Championing Her
by Zepora2276
Summary: The events leading up to and after Calamity Ganon's return in Breath of the Wild. Zelda struggles over the inability to wield her power while Link tries to accept wielding his. The unlikely pair slowly begins to realize they have far more in common, creating an unbreakable bond between Hero and Princess as they make a vow to protect their beloved country-as well as each other.
1. Chapter 1

**Championing Her**

 **Chapter 1**

 _Deteriorating Resentment  
_

 **A/N: BEFORE WE BEGIN: NO, I HAVEN'T LOST MY MIND BY STARTING ANOTHER STORY. Here's the deal, I beat BotW. So was anyone NOT going to assume I'd write a quick piece about it? They set us up for all of the fanfiction fluff, let's be real. All those memory scenes? Just in watching the trailer I was like "oh, the internet is going to freak," because ALL THAT MEAT, YEAH? That being said, like every other thing ever, there were a few things I wanted to see personally, like some certain themes sooooo I just wrote them. I intend for this to be short lived, only four chapters, five at the most. So yeah, just a small little thing I'm doing here to celebrate Breath of the Wild because so much love for that game. I'm actually writing two other (real) books, as well as finishing up two fanfics so my writing plate is full, but I couldn't resist this :3 Feel free to let me know what you think!**

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The sunlight crept its way through the drawn curtains of the princess's chambers. It did not awaken her, though. For the princess had seen many a sunrise in the last few weeks as she was unable to sleep. Night after night she would fall asleep only to be awoken by the same horrifying nightmares that plagued her. Once jolted awake, she would no longer sleep due to fear. Not fear of her nightmares, however. No, that fear could be contained. The nightmares were only a catalyst for awakening the real fear, a fear that she knew would soon be turned into a reality: Calamity Ganon.

Zelda sat up in her bed and sighed. She threw the curtains open and rang for her lady's maid in order to begin her day. She had to get her mind off of the nightmares.

"Good morning, Your Highness," Anna, her favorite of her lady's maids spoke softly as she entered.

"Indeed it is, Anna," Zelda replied, gesturing to the beauty that laid beyond the windows.

Anna stopped and studied the princess momentarily. Zelda's golden hair fell around her face that cradled her blue eyes. Dark circles shadowed the princess's sapphire eyes, causing Anna to ever so slightly tilt her head. Zelda caught the gesture and quickly tried to put the question Anna internally asked to rest.

"I must remember to stop drinking so much of that delicious tea when I study those texts, it keeps me tossing and turning all night," Zelda said as she stood up and walked behind her changing screen. Anna's gaze followed her, but Zelda was determined to hide any issue.

"Perhaps her majesty would prefer to put Silent Princess extract in her tea to help her sleep at night," Anna suggested as she reached for Zelda's dress and corset from the wardrobe.

"Absolutely not," she argued. "I could never bring myself to even pluck such a rare, beautiful species. No no, I would sooner not sleep a wink than to know one less Silent Princess danced upon the fields of Hyrule."

"I beg your pardon, my lady," Anna said as she synched up Zelda's corset. The lady's maid always felt slightly guilty for having to pull so tightly on the princess and bind her up in such an uncomfortable under garment.

"Oh it—," Zelda held her breath as Anna pulled the lace of the corset, shrinking the princess's waist even more. "—it's alright, Anna, I shouldn't have been so sensitive about it. I suppose I'm a bit on edge lately because those cursed night—," Zelda caught herself before she finished the word and attempted to recover, "—nightly hours I've been putting in studying the ancient texts. Due forgive me."

"Nothing to forgive, my lady," Anna replied as she donned Zelda in her royal blue dress. The dress hung loosely in the middle, causing both Zelda and Anna to glance down at the excess fabric that had been tailored to the exact size of the princess.

"That's odd," Zelda mumbled. "I've never had this fabric stretch out like this before."

"If I may be so bold, my lady, I do surmise that it is not the fabric that stretches. There seems to just be less of you to fill it," Anna said kindly. She had noticed Zelda's early rising and lack of sleep, as well as lack of appetite in the last few weeks. But the princess was not one to open up, and Anna knew this. She had been with the princess every day since the beloved queen was laid to rest. Anna tried to do everything she could to fill the void, but the task was nearly impossible for many reasons, the main being because Zelda refused to admit there was ever a void present at all. Anna hoped that in some way, however, Zelda at least viewed her as a friend. Her hopes were not in vain, either, as the princess gently grasped Anna's hand in her own.

"My dear Anna, I do not wish for you to worry about my lack of appetite for one moment of your life. Perhaps I am just going through one of those phase's women do, yes? Lest we forget, only months ago you snuck that chocolate cake in here after dinner only to find the entire platter empty by morning," Zelda and Anna both giggled. "So please, fret not. I am sure in this massive castle you have far more things to worry about that occupy your time. I take up enough of it already," the sixteen year old princess smiled.

"Not a'tall, Princess. Being able to serve you is both an honor and a pleasure," Anna bowed, graciously. Zelda smiled at the one person she regarded as a friend in all of Hyrule.

Anna stood back up with a mischievous smile on her face.

"My my, what could such an expression entail, Anna?" Zelda asked.

"Not a thing, my lady. Only that, I believe the latest Hyrule Champion, Master Link, would most likely say the same thing," Anna grinned.

Zelda gasped, feeling her face heating up.

"I highly doubt that," Zelda rolled her eyes, far less formal.

"I do not, my lady, nor does the rest of the kingdom, especially those here in the castle, I'm sure."

"I hope no one else in the castle shares these inclinations aloud," Zelda smirked through the mirror where Anna did her hair. "You and I both know the last thing I need is for more rumors to circulate about myself."

"Believe me, your ladyship, only fools speak of such a dignified princess in any derogatory light. For the only people that do not sing your praises are those you have intimidated with your wisdom and intelligence," Anna replied, taking pride in the princess she was so close to.

"You treat me too kind, Anna. You and I both know I am far less than you credit me with," Zelda's eyes cast down. She did not feel anywhere near worthy of those words. She couldn't even harness the power she was born with, while the "boy chosen by the sword," literally wielded his power with confidence and ease.

"On the contrary, Princess," Anna said as she placed a hand on Zelda's shoulder.

Anna stood and gathered up Zelda's night gown to take it down to be cleaned.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Anna asked.

"No no, I'll soon be off. However, do you know if Master Link has yet arrived?"

A childish smile appeared on Anna's face. "He arrived this morning, Princess. He's been awaiting your call in the drawing room."

"Thank you, Anna," Zelda said with more composure in her voice.

Anna darted off, unable to contain her smile as she did.

Zelda glanced at herself in the mirror a few more times, making sure she looked her best before entering the drawing room to find her assigned knight.

She stopped outside the massive wooden doors and caught her breath before entering in the most composed manner she could.

"Master Link," she greeted as she entered.

Link immediately knelt in her presence.

"Princess Zelda," he replied before looking up at her. Zelda nodded, indicating he could rise. When he stood, his eyes barely looked down at hers.

"I—," she cleared her throat, trying to sound more dignified than she felt. "I have been reading over the ancient texts and I believe one of our answers lies within the Eldin province. I intend to make my way there today," she informed him.

"My horse is already prepared, Your Highness," he replied, ready to follow her every step.

"Master Link, As I told you yesterday at the ruins, I can assure you that I am perfectly capable of making it to the Eldin province on my own. I should hate to become a burden—,"

"You are not a burden, Princess," Link interrupted, completely aware that one should never speak when being spoken to by anyone in the royal family.

Zelda fought against her involuntary reaction of blushing.

"Still yet, I feel that I cannot ask you to always accompany me to every region I intend to visit, it's none of your concern, anyway."

"It is my duty," Link replied with no haste.

 _That's right. Your duty. You know exactly who you are and what you are supposed to do. What a joy that must be._

Zelda held in her sigh. "I suppose even if I were to order you not to go, you would still accompany me," she spoke.

"I made an oath to the king, Your Highness," Link glanced as his feet.

"Right. Well then, we should be off."

The princess's journey to Eldin proved to be unfruitful and nearly pointless, although she tried to tell herself otherwise as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"How the travelers manage to pass through the heat of this area, I will never know," Zelda mumbled on her horse next to Link, who had said nothing the entire journey. The princess found him to be stand-offish and she hesitated to entertain the idea of becoming more than mere acquaintances. Especially if he wouldn't even make conversation with her.

"Elixirs," he finally spoke.

"Come again?" Zelda asked, astonished.

"There are certain elixirs that can be made in order to withstand unfathomably high heat. That's how many humans are able to make it to Goron City."

"And these elixirs, are they easily made?" she inquired. Zelda was perpetually seeking new information.

"Some are easier than others, but most are fairly simple to make given a few ingredients," Link replied, looking to the princess to find a smile across her pretty face. Link found himself confused, yet delighted to see her suddenly happy.

"I take it you know how to make these special elixirs then?"

"I do, Princess." he answered her, peeling his eyes away from her intoxicating smile.

"Master Link, would it be too much trouble to have you record your knowledge of these drinks so that I may pass them on to my lab directors?"

"It would be no trouble, Princess," Link fiddled with the reigns of his steed.

"Wonderful, thank you," Zelda replied, intrigued with what other knowledge the Hero possessed. "Might I inquire as to where you learned such information?" she said after some time.

"In the ancient texts. My father left many of the texts he'd obtained from his ancestors and throughout travels, some of which contained medical omens and such," Link replied.

Zelda pulled her horse to a halt. "You read ancient Hylian?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Link said, now feeling himself being the one to blush as the blue-eyed princess studied him.

"I am sorry I was ignorant to the knowledge you possessed, Master Link."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Princess."

Zelda felt herself be overcome with guilt. She regarded the hero boy as one merely chosen and therefore ignorant to hard work and the striving, determined drivenness it took to accomplish and fulfill one's duties. She had labeled him as ignorant in all things, therefore and thought him indifferent to her scholarly accomplishments and goals. In fact, she was wrong. And she now began to realize that.

The next morning after Zelda was prepared for the day, she had Anna summon Link. The princess stood outside her room, awaiting the Hero at the top of the stairs that led to her door.

"Master Link!" she called when she saw him. Link looked up at her and quickly made his way to her. Zelda couldn't help but watch his every step, excited to see him make haste to her.

 _You mustn't let that get to you. This is his duty, he said so._

"Princess," Link bowed when he made it to the top.

"Master Link, if I expected you to kneel to me every time you were in my presence I am afraid you would spend far too much of your time staring at the ground."

"But I—," Link started, but Zelda interrupted him this time.

"I reverse the command that you bow, Master Link. Would that suffice for you to not feel the need?" A small smirk appeared on the princess's face that drew one out of Link as well.

"Yes, Princess, if I could ask of you a small favor in return," Link started.

"Anything," Zelda said, inwardly scolding herself for sounding far too eager to come to his aid.

"I would waste far too much of your time if I expected you to refer to me as 'Master' each and every time we spoke. So please, call me Link," the handsome boy replied.

Zelda eyed him before smiling and deciding to comply.

"As you wish, Link."

Link flashed a charming smile at the princess that caused her heart rate to quicken. She silently suppressed the feeling and continued down the stone pathway that connected her room to her study, Link following closely behind her.

"I've never been one for formalities anyway," Zelda said over her shoulder as she walked. She couldn't help but notice the smile that still appeared on the hero's face.

Zelda pushed open the door to her study and gestured for Link to follow her in.

"I was wondering if you would take a look at some of these old manuscripts with me, I thought maybe with the two of us working together we might come up with something more. A fresh pair of eyes is always a good start to finding something new, yes?" she asked, showing him a worn piece of paper with ancient Hylian scribbled on it.

"M-me, Your Highness?" Link stammered. He'd never dreamed the princess would actually ask for his help with something, much less the ancient technology she was enthralled in.

"Yes, of course. You know the language, you even taught me a few things last night when you transcribed all you could remember about the elixirs. I was impressed, truly," Zelda gushed, slowing herself down before she appeared to be far too enthused.

"Well I…I suppose I could try," Link answered.

Zelda set another chair that she had pulled into the room prior to asking Anna to get Link next to her own chair and gestured for him to sit next to her.

Link looked around in awe. Sketches and notes scribbled on wrinkled paper littered the floor and walls of the entire room. Books lined every inch and journals with notes and thoughts sprawled on them laid on Zelda's desk. Link had underestimated her amount of knowledge and work as well. He wondered how much time she spent in this room and how many hours she snuck out here in the middle of the night to continue studying the ancient technology. He hoped the king didn't know she did such. Or any other person, for that matter. Anyone knowing Zelda would be walking from her room to the study in the dark of night could most certainly lead to trouble. But there were guards around the castle, so surely that wouldn't be an issue.

The princess and the Hero huddled over the ancient texts and read diligently, pointing out certain facts or words they noticed, each becoming more and more engulfed in the literature, as well as each other's knowledge.

Princess Zelda requested that Link arrive early the next morning and the two of them could set off early for the Gerudo province. As directed, Link met Zelda at the castle stables early in the morning.

"If we leave early, we can beat the heat of the desert," Zelda said as Link jumped off of his horse to help Zelda onto hers. She was perfectly capable of mounting a horse on her own, but the comforting grip of the hero's hand around her waist as she pulled herself up was enough to make her actually accept help.

"Yes, Your Grace," he replied.

"Have you been to the desert many times, Link?" Zelda asked as he mounted his steed.

"Plenty of times," Link assured her.

"And have you ever been attacked by the Yiga Clan?"

Link looked up to see the princess staring directly at him with a blank expression.

 _She hides her fear well._

"Their threats are worse than their attacks, Your Highness."

"I take that as a yes," Zelda replied, swallowing her fear and taking off on her horse toward the desert, Link following closely behind.

After stopping at a desert bazaar to fill up on water, Zelda and Link tied up their horses and walked outside the perimeter to discuss some of what Zelda hoped to find in Gerudo Town. She didn't want any of the Gerudo or travelers to hear her speaking.

As the two conversed, Link stopped mid sentence and stared into the distance.

"What?" Zelda asked, following his gaze.

Link stared for a long time before answering.

"Nothing. I thought I heard the sound of a wind cleaver but…I must be paranoid," he finished.

"Wind cleaver? Aren't wind cleavers supposedly silent?"

"Unless one of the Yiga Clan members is holding it," Link replied, looking around. Zelda noticed him take a few steps closer to her.

"But…this is a well traveled route. Surely the Yiga Clan wouldn't attack somewhere this populated," Zelda started.

"I would put nothing past them," Link said, instinctively grabbing Zelda's arm and pulling her behind him.

"Just in case, it's best to have your weapon handy. I don't think anything is amiss but out here so close to their hideout it's probably better—,"

He was cut off by a rush of wind that produced four Yiga Clan members simultaneously, surrounding Link and Zelda.

"Go," Link breathed, letting go of her arm.

"But you—,"

"Run," he said again louder as one of the masked bandits approached him. "Now!" he yelled.

Zelda took off sprinting as hard as she could, glancing back to see three Yiga Clan members following close behind her. She feared for her life, but even more so for Link's, who she saw just in time to unsheathe his sword and cross a wind cleaver with the tall, masked creature in front of him.

The princess kept sprinting through the sand, keeping her eye trained on the pack that rested on the back of her horse that contained her sword.

"Please," she whispered to the Goddess as she ran.

Before Zelda would react, a Yiga materialized in front of her. She stumbled back, attempting to run the other way, but it was no use. One had already positioned itself behind her, ready to strike at any moment. Zelda fell to the ground from her momentum, having no where to run.

The Yiga stepped toward her, raising its cycle high into the air, ready to slice through her existence.

Zelda heard the sound of ripping flesh, closing her eyes and bracing herself for the pain. But she felt nothing. She looked up to see Link pull his sword out of the flesh of the Yiga that nearly ended her life.

Link stepped in front of her, using himself as a human shield. The other two Yiga Clan members stepped backward, cowering at the sight of the Hero, before disappearing to return to where they came from.

Link sheathed his sword after he was certain they were gone. He turned around to a shaking princess, still in the sand. He extended his hand to her. In the past, Zelda would not have taken it. But after seeing him willingly risk his life for her, all pretenses she had of him were erased. Zelda placed her hand firmly in Link's and allowed him to help her up.

"I owe you my life," she told him.

"I made an oath to risk mine for you, Princess. You owe me nothing," Link replied, gesturing for her to continue in front of him.

"I—," Zelda started, feeling guilty for numerous reasons that she could only label as helplessness.

"I insist," Link replied, not wanting her to feel like she needed to thank him.

Zelda didn't know what to say or how to thank him. It was rare that she ever felt speechless. Or that she owed anyone.

"Thank you," she finally said as they quickly walked to their horses.

"My honor, Princess," Link replied.

Link remained close to Zelda the entire way back to the castle after visiting Gerudo Town. But Zelda found herself more than tolerant of his being there.

"I see what you mean," she said as they rode across the gentle plains of Hyrule Field.

"About what, Princess?"

"The Yiga Clan. Their threats do seem worse than their attacks."

Link was amazed at her amount of composure and lack of hesitation in her statement. She truly believed that, despite her almost being killed by them earlier.

"They are still a threat. They attacked you," Link replied, feeling the same hatred and determination well up inside of him that he felt earlier when he saw the other three clan members run after Zelda.

"They attack poor citizens too, citizens who haven't done anything to deserve their wrath," Zelda shook her head.

"You've…you've done nothing to deserve their wrath either," Link met her distraught gaze thinking of her beloved citizens falling victim to the evil clan.

"I am the princess, Link. I will forever have a target on my back. Those other people shouldn't though," Zelda leaned up and gently pet her horse.

"That doesn't mean you should either, princess or not."

Zelda was surprised to hear him speak so freely toward her. He had begun to speak more and more, but never so openly.

"By the by, it appears I have nothing to fear with my appointed knight around though, does it?" she smiled. "You have proven yourself to be exactly who they say you are: the boy chosen by the sword."

Link smiled and looked down at his horse. For reasons she could not explain, Zelda's heart rate quickened yet again.

"It's not all it's cracked up to be," he replied, tugging on his ponytail.

"Because you nearly get slashed to bits for the stubborn princess you vowed to protect?" Zelda said in jest, although there was a ring of truth to her statement and she knew it.

Link laughed, slightly, taken aback by her sudden lack of poise and gentile.

"No, no not that. I gladly do that," he stated. Zelda was glad it was turning dark so that he could not see the redness in her cheeks. "It's more so due to the fact that now that I've been 'chosen,' what happens if I actually fail? Everyone expects me to succeed in every way they need. It's like they forget I'm still capable of failure. It's one thing when people expect you to fail and put pressure on you. It's another when they only expect you _not_ to and therefore assume you have no reason to fret and no reason to not do exactly what they expect," he admitted.

Zelda had never thought about the amount of pressure that the chosen hero she had ridden beside for so long really did have thrown upon him.

"If it helps," she stated, "I understand exactly what you mean."

Link looked up at her with genuine concern in his eyes.

"How so?"

"I'm 'born of the goddess,' remember? I…apparently…'possess' the sealing power to seal away Calamity Ganon should he chose to show himself again. Alas, I have no idea how to harness or control or even remotely feel that power at all. All of my life, I've been told exactly what I must do and what I am expected to do, yet I have no idea how to do it. At least you know how to wield the sword on your back," she stated, scoffing a little at the power she had come to loathe inside of her.

"Only when given the proper motivation," Link finally replied.

Zelda looked at him, puzzled.

"Today, I didn't have time to doubt myself. You were in danger. I had to be proficient with this sword if it meant saving you. I was just given the proper motivation. I think you will have that too, at some point. You just haven't found it yet."

Zelda reminded herself over and over that it was Link's duty by an oath that he protected her and not for any other reason did he do so. Regardless, she was flattered that she was enough motivation for him to fight.

"I hope you're right, Hero," she smiled.

"I have to be, I'm the 'chosen one,' remember?" Link smirked, causing Zelda to let out a much needed laugh that Link could not help but return.


	2. Chapter 2

**Before we begin, no (major) spoilers in this chapter, I pretty much made this all up. However, there is one conversation in here that is like one of the memories in the game, although it isn't word for word or anything. Just an FYI.**

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 **Championing Her**

 **Chapter 2**

 _A Vow_

The hero arose early in the morning from his chambers in the castle. The king had offered to move Link into the castle since he would be spending so much of his time there, alongside the fact that he would be closer to the princess should any emergency arise.

He went outside to the palace stables to check on his horse, Epona. Epona was originally his father's horse, bestowed to him after his father's death. She was the most valiant horse in the kingdom, and she was dear to Link due to her being so loyal to his father.

"Master Link, would you prefer for one of us to saddle your horse, sir?" one of the stable boys, who was probably barely older than Link, asked as he came down the stairs.

"No need, thank you. I'm just checking on Epona. I thought perhaps she might need some company for a while," Link replied. At times he felt awkward when he was treated so mightily by men who he felt no higher than. He didn't know how to respond to such respect when he was merely walking around.

He walked to Epona's stall. She giddily greeted him, nudging her nose into his face.

"Good morning to you too," he laughed, stroking her nose. "I brought you something," he said as he pulled an apple out of his pouch. Epona quickly retrieved it from his hand and munched on it as she continued to rub her face against his.

"You're welcome," Link said to her, noticing a few stable boys watching him, but he didn't care. "Today is a big day, Epona. We are going to accompany the princess to Zora's Domain. You like the Lanayru province, don't you?"

The audience in the stables watched in awe as Link talked to his companion. They had spoken about his connection with the horse since he arrived at the castle. They'd never seen anyone so easily handle the reigns as Link.

"The princess does too. She says it's one of her favorite places to travel," Link smiled, locking eyes with his brown steed. "She really is quite something, isn't she?" he said, quieter so that no passerby could hear him. "I didn't think you and I were going to like traveling with her at first. But you know, Epona, the more I've gotten to talk to her and learn about her, the more tender I realize she is. She's actually kind of fun to be around, isn't she?"

Epona neighed and Link took that to mean yes.

"Aside from the fact that she's nice to look at," Link snickered next to his friend, glancing around to make sure no one heard him. He was whispering, but he was still nervous.

"I'll come back for you, later. I have to eat my breakfast now, too."

Link loved on his horse and then departed, excited to eat his hot buttered apple. As he walked up the stone pathway, he heard the sound of screaming. Link quickly ran over to where he heard the noise coming from. As he approached, he saw a guardian spinning its mechanical head and shooting the deadly beams wherever it heard the men standing. Link glanced up to the princess's room, knowing he would have to notify her immediately. If anyone within the castle would know how to stop the guardian, it would be her.

Link ran up the stairway and paused outside her room. It would be inappropriate to barge into the princess's chambers without being invited, especially in the morning when she may have yet to be awake and decent. But one scream of terror coming from below made Link forget about all formalities.

"Princess!" he called through the door to warn her. "Princess, it's urgent!"

Link opened her door to find Zelda already awake and dressed (much to his relief). She was looking out her window when he threw the door open.

"Link, what is happening?" Zelda said as she ran to him, her hands locking around his forearms.

"A guardian has malfunctioned. It has turned on all of the technicians working on it. I had to get you, you're the only one that will know what to do," Link informed her hastily.

Zelda ran out her door and looked over the stone bridge. Soldiers were already making their way to the guardian, attempting to take it down with swords. Zelda could no longer watch her loyal men try to take out the monster in the least effective way possible. Men already laid on the ground, some injured and some ducking from the beams.

"They'll never defeat it that way," she mumbled next to Link. "Quickly, follow me," she said, latching his hand in hers. She sprinted across the pathway to get to her study. "If it sees us it will blow this entire room to smithereens!" she yelled over her shoulder. Luckily, the distance was not far.

Zelda threw the door to her study open, running straight to a drawer and pulling out an arrow in haste.

"What is that?"

"An ancient arrow," Zelda said as she laid it on her desk. She slid her fingers across the wall to find a large, loose stone. Link saw her grip onto it and pull with all her might, freeing the stone from the wall. Behind it, there was a completely hollow space that housed a bow.

"What is that?!" he yelled again.

"My bow," Zelda said as she attached the arrow to it. She quickly glanced at him long enough to say, "Don't tell anyone you saw me do that."

Link immediately knew what his princess was about to do. She ran to the door and peeked out.

"Link, I'll have to get that guardian to look up here so I can get a clear shot. Be ready to defend yourself when it looks up here. I can't afford you getting hurt," she told him.

Before she stepped out, Link gripped her forearm.

"Princess, I can't let you risk your life—,"

"Count it as repayment for yesterday," she remarked, looking out the door once more before releasing her arm and running out.

"Link!" Zelda yelled, hoping to get the guardian's attention when she did. "I only have one arrow! If it doesn't work, we will need to face the guardian head on! So whatever you do, don't lose your shield!"

"Whatever you do, don't miss!" Link yelled back at her, throwing formalities out the window. He was peeved at her for running off without him and not letting him be the one to shoot.

"I never miss," Zelda yelled back as she stood up on the ledge of the bridge. "Soldiers!" she shouted to them in her most authoritative voice. "Get down!"

Just as she got the words out, the guardian spotted her, its red light shining right on her chest. She drew her bow, steady and unmoving.

"Princess!" Link yelled, running toward her to throw her out of the way. Before he reached her, Zelda released her arrow and sent it flying into the guardian's eye.

Link lunged forward, grabbing the princess and throwing her on the ground, himself on top of her, just before the blast occurred. The force from the explosion was felt even behind the wall of the stone bridge.

Breathing heavily out of fear, the hero and the princess stayed put momentarily to make sure everything was calm.

"Told you I never miss, Hero," Zelda remarked, staring up at her blond haired life saver from where she laid underneath him.

"Neither do I," Link said looking down at her. "Good thing too, or else you would have been blown from here to Hebra."

"I don't mind the cold," Zelda replied, slitting her eyes at him.

"Let's hope you don't mind the heat either because you would have been on fire," Link replied, still slightly mad that she put herself at such risk. Not that he minded her banter.

The hero realized he was in fact still on top of the princess and he quickly stood up, helping her up alongside him. He couldn't help but notice that she no quicker told him to get off of her, though.

 _She's the princess, what are you thinking?_

Zelda dusted herself off and flipped her hair, proudly. She glanced at Link, a small smirk on her face. Link couldn't believe that she was not the least bit afraid, but almost happy with her performance.

 _Actually, that's no surprise at all_.

"Thank you for saving me once again, Hero Boy," she remarked almost, dare he think it, flirtatiously.

Link quickly glanced away from her. "Let us check on the soldiers, Your Highness," he said, reminding himself she was still the princess, no matter how…close…the two of them were.

Zelda quickly hid her bow back in her study and raced down the stairs, Link following right behind her. The men kneeled in the presence of their princess and her knight, except for two, who laid on the ground in pain.

"Rise men, and inform me of your injured ones," Zelda told them.

"Just these two, Your Highness," one of the soldiers pointed at two of their comrades on the ground. Zelda quickly walked over and knelt down on the ground next to the two wounded.

She observed them but could not find any blood, so she assumed there were internal injuries or broken bones.

"Where are you injured?"

"The leg, Your Grace," one choked out.

"You two, there," Zelda pointed at two soldiers. "Take this man to the medical ward. Tell the medical nurses to inform his family."

"Yes, Your Highness," the men answered, helping up their fellow soldier and carrying him off. Zelda ran to the other injured guard and knelt next to him.

"What of your injuries, soldier?"

"Just a bruised rib, I believe, Your Majesty."

"You," Zelda pointed at another man who was already coming to her aid. "Release him of his brigandine so he can breathe, and then quickly take him to the medics. Have his family informed as well. Are there any others among you that were hurt?"

"No, Your Highness," several answered.

"If at any point you have other injuries, do what you must to tend to them at once. I will have extra medical staff on hand. Master Link and I will decipher why the guardian malfunctioned. In the meantime, stop all guardian training and tell the other men that if any guardian has the least bit of problem to shut it down and inform me immediately. These creatures are deadly. One wrong hit and they will surely—,"

"Zelda!"

Every head turned in the direction of the king's voice. Each of the men, including Link, knelt down, staring only at the ground.

"What do you think you're doing out here in the middle of this danger?" his booming voice yelled.

Zelda never wavered. She stood with her shoulders back and her chin lightly held up, a position that no one ever dared take in front of the king.

 _Except for her_ , Link thought to himself as he barely cast a glance up to look at her.

"I'm checking on the injured men, Father. I have already sent them to the medical unit."

"The healthy men can handle the injured, and there wouldn't be any injured if you hadn't have insisted on this unfruitful research of your ancient guardians! You should be focusing every bit of your time to your training and power!"

"II told you, Father, I have already visited the Spring of Courage, and the Spring of Power. I want to be ready should anything—,"

"You know full well how you can prevent the fall of our kingdom. You just refuse to accept it," the king said in a low, harsh voice to his daughter. Link was the only one to fully hear the conversation due to his close proximity.

"I have accepted it. It is knowing how to harness and control it that I have yet to master—."

"All the more reason for you to stop this childish obsession with these ancient creatures and work solely for the purpose of wielding your power!" he yelled at her. "Now, I forbid you to have a single thing more to do with these ancient beings, do you understand?"

Zelda held her breath momentarily.

"I understand completely," she replied in a low voice of her own.

The king stared at her for a short moment before turning around and leaving. After he left, the men stayed down save for Link, who rose next to Zelda. The expressionless princess looked up at him, locking eyes with her compassionate hero. His gaze met hers, looking down at her with sadness and concern in his eyes that genuinely touched Zelda.

"I…," she started to say to him, but did not finish. She turned around to the guards and ordered for them to rise.

"See to it that none of these guardians threatens your safety, especially the citizens. Have them contained immediately. Should anything go amiss, notify me immediately."

The guards looked around, confused by their princess's commands since the king had just ordered her to not have anything to do with the technology. But they were not to disobey the princess.

Zelda turned on her heel and began heading down to the stables, Link right behind her.

"If the guardians are malfunctioning, there has to be a reason. They aren't programmed to attack humans. Unless they've been hijacked. We must find out why. Link, we have to reach Robbie and Purah, and make haste," she said as she walked with as much speed as she could without running, for it was undignified for a princess to run.

"Leop," Zelda pointed as she walked by the stable keeper, "saddle up my horse."

"Princess, if I may be so bold—," Link started. Zelda whipped around, causing him to bump into her. She didn't notice. She cut her eyes up at Link, causing his own breath to shorten being so close to her.

"I said I understood, Link. I didn't say I'd abide by it."

Link looked down at the princess, the person he vowed to protect. He knew he should not allow her to continue on with her research and scheme her way through the kingdom under her father's disapproval. He wouldn't be the one to tell her no, though. He also wouldn't be the one to tell her father. He knew it was dangerous. He knew that he could (and most likely would) be hanged on account of treason should anything happen to the princess after he knew she continued her research. But he saw how hard she worked. He saw the strength and courage in her demeanor, he saw the fearlessness as she stood under the guardian's wrath. He saw her wisdom in the way she lead her people and he saw her determination in her stance against her father. He knew she wouldn't back down, even if he did threaten to tell the king. There was no point: The princess would do what she wanted, and he would be there to protect her.

"Then, might I inquire as to how we keep this between the two of us?" Link asked in a low voice. Zelda's eyes sparkled and she grinned at her hero, pleased that he would follow her.

"We will visit the springs again. My father is convinced I haven't tried hard enough. Maybe if he sees me visit them again, he will believe in my diligence. It wouldn't hurt to try that anyway. And if we, perhaps, have to stop and rest in one of the villages and we decide tooooo take a look at some ancient technology, we can. Besides, I need to stop by the lab and tell Purah and Robbie about the guardians anyway. Even if I am forbidden to tinker with them, they are not, and not even the king can argue with that," Zelda smiled, confidently.

"As you wish, Princess," Link nodded, following her down to the stables.

The pair mounted their horses and took off for the lab. When the arrived, Link followed Zelda inside the mysterious building. Usually no one besides royalty was allowed in the lab, but since Link had been appointed as Zelda's knight, he accompanied her everywhere.

Purah and Robbie were shaken by the fact that the guardians turned against the humans but they covered up their concern with exhilaration and speedy research, which Link noted. He watched Zelda huddle over notes upon notes, biting her lip in concentration. She took a ribbon out of her pouch and tied her hair up on top of her head, an indication that serious brain power was taking place and therefore she could not be distracted by her long golden hair. Link couldn't help but be fascinated by her knowledge, much less Purah and Robbie's. They dug out books, coughing due to the dust, scribbled down notes, deciphered old readings. He'd never seen Zelda so excited as she was when she was learning about the ancient times. She looked up at Link, causing the hero to quickly glance away so she wouldn't notice him watching her.

"Link," her blue eyes, wide with excitement, "come see what you make of this."

Purah and Robbie eyed the boy as he stood over the princess and read the ancient Hylian.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"Well, from what it describes," Link started, nervous to be giving his opinion in front of Hyrule's most excellent scholars. "It sounds like the guardian's own strength is about the only thing to take it down."

"We can't very well have guardians shooting at other guardians," Robbie scoffed.

"No," Link replied, "but we could have a guardian shoot at itself."

"That's impossible," Purah waved off.

"Not entirely. If you had a strong enough metal combined with force at a certain time—,"

"You could deflect the beam right into its own eye and destroy it within one or two hits," Zelda finished, looking up at Link.

"Exactly," he smiled down at her.

Purah and Robbie glanced at each other. Purah finally shrugged.

"Hey, it's not all that impossible. As long as the timing is right."

"Link, you're an absolute genius," Zelda replied, clasping her hands and studying pictures of the guardians.

"I'd hesitate to refer to me as a genius, My Lady," Link said, sheepishly.

"I wouldn't," Zelda said with a soft smile. Purah and Robbie eyed one another, seeing how such rumors of the princess and her hero could circulate.

They continued to read, becoming more nervous as they did so. Should the gaurdians become possessed with the infectious malice of Calamity Ganon, they could easily take out the entire kingdom. And with one already malfunctioning without any known cause, the princess had reason to begin to fear the worst.

"Well, we won't know unless another guardian acts up, and you had them all shut down for now," Purah spoke up.

"Yes, the citizens are my main concern. But I could have the guardians transported out here in the field where they wouldn't do much damage to anything or anyone, and we would have time to take them down before they could reach a village," Zelda responded, gearing up in order to leave.

"Alright, just have them sent here, then," Robbie replied.

Zelda and Link suited up and began to walk out the door.

"Oh, one more thing," Zelda said before they left. "My father forbade me to have anything to do with the ancient technology anymore. So please, do me the honor of keeping this a secret, yes?"

That obviously meant to the hero and the scientists to do as the princess said and keep it all a secret.

"If you say so, Princess," Robbie shook his head.

"Our lips are sealed," Purah winked.

"Thank you," Zelda replied, walking out the door, knowing Link would be right behind her.

Zelda and Link returned to the castle to check on the two injured soldiers. She felt it more important to stay up to date on their recovery than to do any more research during the day. One of the soldier's had already been sent home to recover, but the other was still in the infirmary.

"Princess," the wounded soldier said as he attempted to sit up in his bed.

Zelda held out her hand. "Please, do not worry about that. I came to see how you were fairing."

"Just a little sore, Your Grace, but doing much better since this morning."

"Wonderful. Are you being treated well here?" she sat at the foot of his bed.

"Yes, very well, Princess."

Zelda smiled sweetly and the injured soldier. Link couldn't help but smile sweetly at her, watching her be so gentle and compassionate for her people.

"I am pleased. Do let me know if there is anything we can do for you or your family. You will most assuredly be compensated for your days spent in recovery. You have done your duty as a soldier."

"T-Thank you, Your Majesty. You are too kind," the soldier said. Zelda stood up and took his hand.

"It is my duty and my honor as your princess to insure that you are well and provided for, think nothing of it," she smiled before she departed.

Link escorted her out, even more enthralled in her than he was before. So much he'd learned about her in a day. He followed her up to the observation room of the castle, silent as they walked. When they reached the outside balcony of the room, Zelda looked out over the fields of Hyrule.

"Tell me what you see, Hero," she spoke, softly.

Link glanced at her and then followed her gaze outward.

"I see your kingdom, Your Highness," he answered. Zelda said nothing, so the hero boy continued. "I see…beauty. I see the soft, gentle, rolling hills of the field. I see the strong mountains as our barriers. I see the Goddess's creation, I see the time she took to paint the lands. I see a strong, peaceful kingdom."

Zelda nearly teared up at his words that he so poetically spoke.

"What do you see…Princess?" he finally asked.

Zelda took a breath, still looking straight ahead.

"I see my people. I see the men that cultivated the fields. I see the women that pick the plentiful fruits from the trees. I see children that run through the field and play. I see the mail men delivering letters, I see father's teaching their sons how to fight and give their daughters flowers at the end of a long day. I see mother's holding their children and tucking them in at night. Village after village of kind, innocent, hard working people, Link. It is my kingdom…under my protection. All of that peace…all of the stability, all of the life flourishing in these lands…all of that will be ripped from our grasp if I do not—," she nearly choked on her tears, "—if I fail to harness this power. If I fail to protect them."

Link's gaze shifted from the land to the princess. Compassion filled his eyes as he saw through her strength to her pain.

Zelda turned to the hero and held both of his hands in hers.

"I cannot let them down, Link. I must protect them.

She gripped his hands, tightly. Her tears vanished and her sorrow was replaced with hardness.

"Will you protect them with me, Hero? Will you defend them with me?"

Link held on to her soft hands, watching her eyes dance back and forth between his. Without a single word, he knelt down at her feet, still gripping on tightly to her hands.

"You are my princess," he said to her, "and I am your servant. I promise you that I will fight alongside you, Your Highness. Where you go, I follow."

And any sliver of doubt that she had that Link was not the chosen hero was severed from her heart.

The princess let go of his hands and stared out over her kingdom once more.

"They are our people, Link. I will sooner lay down my life and die the grisliest of deaths before I watch my kingdom be in the clutches of Ganon."

Link looked at the princess's hand and saw her clench her fist, tight.

"I swear to it." She then turned to him, extending her hand once more, keeping hold on it as he rose.

"I will forever be indebted to you, Hero."

"It is my honor, Princess," Link replied, and Zelda knew he truly meant every word.

A single tear slid down the princess's cheek that Link could not help but wipe way.

"I have faith in you, Your Highness," he nearly whispered.

"And I in you, Chosen One," she replied.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, you know that scene we all saw in the trailer? The one where Link is kneeling down and Zelda clenches her fist? The one that should have given you chills upon viewing? Well, I wanted it to go something more like this. Not that I didn't like the way it went in the game, but I just wanted some REAL JUICY MEAT. I wanted that real princess/hero feel, you know? That regal, stoic, majestic, bad-a princessy feel. So, I went for it. Let me know what you guys think.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Championing Her**

 **Chapter 3**

 _Flourishing_

Zelda waited a few minutes after Anna left her room to finally exit herself. She was eager to find Link, for numerous reasons. Today, Link was to help train the princess in hand-to-hand combat. The king felt it necessary for Link to train the princess since Link was in fact her appointed knight. Zelda was nervous at the thought of having to train alongside the handsome hero, but Link assured her time after time again that she would do fine. She had proven her physical strength day after day by the amount of miles she traversed, sometimes not even on a horse, not to mention her skill with a bow.

Zelda rounded a corner in the castle, bumping right into Link. Her hands instinctively landed on him, and his around her waist.

"Oh, Link!" Zelda greeted, startled.

"Good morning, Princess," Link replied, smiling at her frazzled state that he rarely caught her in. He glanced down at the princess in her combat garb. She wore a Sheikah suit under her cloak, as it was inappropriate for her to walk around in such a tight outfit outside of the training grounds. She looked different than she looked in her dress or her travel outfits. She looked…stealthier. Sneakier, perhaps. She seemed swift and light, like she could run alongside the hero without making a sound. He quickly peeled his eyes away from the blue-eyed beauty and tried to regain his usual composure.

"Good morning to you too, Hero," she cut her eyes up at him. "In a hurry this morning, are you not?"

"Only to find Your Majesty, at your father's request. He thinks it far too late for you to be sleeping in," Link remained smiling. Neither he nor Zelda noticed they still held on to each other.

"He would assume I was asleep, would he not?" Zelda sighed. "The very notion that I could sleep this late is insulting in and of itself. If he must know, I've been up for hours."

"The dark circles under your eyes would suggest so, Princess," Link replied, feeling concerned for his companion.

Zelda stared up at him, and for just a moment, he saw through her default, stoic expression and peered into her mind: Her fearful, anxious, and lonely mind. The princess felt her hero studying her. She so badly wanted to tell him of her many fears. It was not that she didn't trust the chosen boy, but she felt it inconsiderate to pour her problems and worries upon him when he did not ever complain or share his fears with her. It was enough that he had to follow her around and risk his life for her should he have to. She wouldn't force him to be her own therapist as well.

She sighed and finally lifted her hands off of where they rested on his arms.

"You mustn't concern yourself with my amount of sleep, Link. I'm sure you have far more things to occupy your thoughts," she recomposed herself.

 _On the contrary,_ the hero thought to himself. He found the blue-eyed princess being the one to occupy his thoughts more and more as of late.

"Perhaps, Princess, but it is my responsibility to make sure you are physically well," Link said as he walked with her down the hall. Zelda had stopped leading the way as much and preferred for her knight to walk alongside her. It was unorthodox, as anyone in the royal family was followed, not walked with. But Zelda insisted Link _accompany_ her, not follow her.

"To make sure I'm well in the case of an attack, Master Link," Zelda replied, smiling at her use of "Master," a name she used nearly as a joke, poking fun at the formalities, although only Link knew it, and he didn't mind.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but that is where you are mistaken," Link looked down at her. The pair stopped in the hall and Zelda cut her eyes up at him again.

"How so?" she was not used to being told she was wrong.

"I must insure that you are fully well so that you are fully capable of defending yourself, like you say, in the case of an attack. We can only bet on your safety after the attack so long as you are well before the attack," Link smiled at her.

"Hence why we must train today, Hero. That way, no matter what sleep deprived state I might be in, I will know how to defend myself regardless. I would be willing to bet that you, as my appointed knight, do not get the amount of sleep he should either, am I correct?"

"You mustn't concern yourself with my amount of sleep, Your Highness. I'm sure you have far more things to occupy your thoughts," Link winked at Zelda, causing her to blush slightly. She turned her face away in hopes to hide her it, but she was unsuccessful.

"If I weren't so accustomed to your sarcasm, hero, I might have to force you to start kneeling every time you see me again," Zelda smirked, causing Link to be the one to blush this time.

Link immediately knelt down and bowed his head, still keeping his eyes on the princess. Zelda held her hand out for him to take. He kissed her knuckle, as all of the nobles were expected to do in her presence, before the two of them started laughing, ruining all formality.

"'Tis not an imposition to require me to do so each time, Princess," Link said, referring to kissing her little hand. The princess still held on to the hero's hand as he rose, suddenly finding herself unwilling to let go.

The princess and her knight made their way to the palace training grounds, a place Zelda had spent much of her time growing up. She always liked the chance to get away from her governess and her responsibilities and actually move around. It was undignified for a princess to run, but in the training arena, Zelda was allowed to do whatever she wanted. However, after she turned fifteen, most of her time was devoted to praying and training her powers, not her body. Upon entering the arena where the royals trained, Zelda stopped and smiled, reveling in her enthusiasm. Link took in the beautiful place around him. He'd been in the royal training area before, but he was always taken aback by how beautiful of a place it was. Mirrors outlined in gold made their way around the walls and large veils with the sacred triforce symbol hung from the glass ceiling.

"Come here often, Link?" Zelda asked after she hung her cloak up. He didn't realize she'd been studying him.

"Only on occasion," he replied, still not used to seeing the princess in such clothes.

Zelda and Link were the only two people occupying the grounds, by the king's request. He did not want his daughter to be distracted, and he didn't want anyone else to train her except for Link.

Weapons and bows lined the walls, along with rows of other training equipment: shields, arrows, spears, targets, gear, and whatever else the princess could desire.

"Well, Princess, what would you like to start with?" Link asked, looking around.

"Aren't you the one in charge of me today, Link?" Zelda smirked, following his gaze.

"I wouldn't dare be in charge of you, Your Majesty," Link smiled at her.

"Do you find me dreadfully high maintenance, Hero?" Zelda tilted her chin up to look at him.

"On the contrary. I consider you…," Link paused, meeting the princess's eyes, "strong willed," he grinned. Zelda slapped him in the stomach with her hand, causing the two of them to giggle.

"That's just another way of saying stubborn and high maintenance!" she yelled.

"Of course not," Link replied, catching her wrist before she whacked him again, "I find it rather charming."

Zelda blushed, once again, before stepping closer to Link.

"Don't indulge me with mere flattery, chosen boy," she eyed him, although she could not conceal the smile from her face.

"Never, Miss. I only speak the truth, I can assure you," he replied, still smiling at the coy princess.

Zelda stared at him for a moment, wondering if he was in fact telling the truth—that he really did find her charming. Regardless, she could not think about that now. There were far too many other things to worry about. She whipped her head back around and focused on the equipment around the room.

"In that case, grace me with your candor pertaining to which category of training you'd like to start with today, Master Link."

Link looked around the room. It was rare that he told the princess to do anything at all, much less pick something with her in the room. Zelda was a very decisive person, she rarely needed help choosing anything. But, as she stated, he was the one in charge and therefore he should be the one to pick.

"Perhaps we should begin with some blocking, your highness. Defense tactics are always useful," he said.

"Perfect."

Zelda followed Link over to the wall of shields and watched as he picked one for her. It was smaller than his so that she would be able to hold it well. She gripped it in her hand and felt the weight of it, examining the piece. It had been a while since she'd held a shield.

Link gestured for her to follow him over to the cushioned part of the floor. He explained to her that they would first learn how to block attacks. Link showed her the motion and she eagerly followed suit. He was surprised at how easily Zelda took to learning new things, and how eager she was to perfect and learn more. She was extremely enthusiastic, which helped him teach her.

They quickly moved on to sword training, which Zelda seemed to like even more. He taught her various strikes and how to block and counteract with her sword. They sparred each other bit by bit, Zelda quickly becoming more confident and at ease with the sword in her hand. Link had found himself actually having to try a few times with her, instead of just help her. The two of them sparred, Zelda being fairly advanced for her weight and height. Link became more and more impressed with her abilities and wondered if she had actually done this more than she acted like and, if she hadn't, why the king wasn't more adamant about her physical training since she had such potential and natural talent.

Zelda enjoyed sparring the young hero so much that she decided to try even harder. In her stubbroness, she wanted to be an actual challenge to even him. Her strikes became quicker and her blocks became more and more effective as the two of them sped up their fighting. Zelda started backing Link into a corner as the two struck swords. Link was so distracted by her skill that he allowed himself to be backed up, until his own competitiveness took over and he evaded a strike, taking the opportunity to strike an open spot, gaining the lead and control once more. Zelda was on the defensive, now being the one to be backed up. She avoided and blocked many strikes until the hero finally disarmed her, leaving her only to surrender.

When the two of them took off their masks, they were both smiling, wiping sweat from their foreheads.

"I must say, Princess, you almost had me a few times," Link said, picking up her sword from the ground.

"Thank you, Link. You are a marvelous teacher," she replied, grinning. "However, I see now why you are the chosen one. There is no match for you in the entire kingdom, I'm sure of it," Zelda said, uniting some of her gear.

Link smiled, sheepishly, avoiding her blue gaze. He hung the swords back in their places and untied some of his gear.

"Should we move on to hand to hand combat, Princess?"

"I'd be more than happy to, although, I must confess," she stated, re-tying her hair back up.

"What is it, Miss?" Link asked, watching her synch up her golden locks.

"I am a bit out of practice in that area. I'm afraid I'll be a bit of a bore since I don't know much. My father always avoided letting me learn much of it since he was afraid I'd get hurt. After everything that happened with my mother, that is…," Zelda trailed off. Link's eyes filled with sorrow for the lonely princess. He walked over to where she sat on the ground, rather un-royally, with her legs crossed and shoulders slouched, and he sat next to her.

"I promise you that I would never do anything to risk hurting you. As for your own physical strength, I wouldn't worry. You could probably give some of the guards a run for their rupees," Link smiled, nudging Zelda's arm. Zelda slightly laughed next to him.

"I don't know about that," she mumbled.

"Well, I do. But if you don't want to practice, I understand. You don't have to, by any means. We can do hand to hand combat whenever you're ready. And if you decide you don't want to, then we won't," Link said, looking down at her.

The princess tilted her head up, admiring her appointed knight. He was so kind to her. The more she looked at him and the more she thought about him, the more she realized how much she'd grown attached to him. He was gentle, yet he challenged her and pushed her to work harder. He had served as motivation and encouragement to her.

"I sometimes do not know what I did before you came along, chosen boy," Zelda smiled up at him. Link fiddled with his hair, a habit he did when he was nervous.

"Link," Zelda whispered, grabbing his arm.

"Yes, My Lady?"

"Can I ask a favor of you?"

"Anything," Link whispered, being in such close proximity of the princess.

"Can we shoot some arrows with those bows over there?" Zelda asked, her blue eyes wide with curiosity and hope as she barely took her eyes off of Link to glance at the bows lined against the wall.

Link's face broke out into a grin. He was certain the princess had perfected such a look of plead that was certainly irresistible.

"Anything you wish, Princess."

Link stood up, helping Zelda up alongside him, and the two of them picked out which bows to use. Link placed targets at the far end of the arena then jogged back over to where Zelda stood, examining her royal guard's bow.

"Okay, have you ever shot with one of these before?" Link asked as Zelda attached an arrow.

"Nope," she answered.

"They're kind of heavy. It might be best if you aim upward a little more than usual so that—," he was cut off by the sound of Zelda releasing the arrow. They watched it fly right into the center of a target Link had set up mere seconds ago.

"—Like that," he finished. Zelda put the bow at her side with a satisfied smile on her face. Link couldn't contain the laugh that escaped his lips. The two of them spent the rest of the morning laughing and playing more than practicing.

Zelda invited her knight to dine with her for lunch. Her father was usually busy and luncheons became very lonely. Often times, Zelda would request to eat her lunch in her room and then she would sneak into her study and remain there for hours. But since Link was already with her, it made no sense to turn him loose for lunch when she planned on summoning him later that afternoon anyway.

Link placed the cloak over her shoulders and escorted her out of the training grounds.

"Link," Zelda said as she intertwined her arm with his. "Do you think we should go to the field and visit…," she stopped and looked around to make sure no one was in ear shot. The place was actually empty, "Purah and Robbie?"

"If you desire, Princess. Although, we never did conclude our research in Zora's Domain," Link reminded her.

"Hm," she scoffed. Link raised a questioning eyebrow at her, so she continued. "I do…hesitate to return to Zora's Domain."

"Why so, My Lady? I recall you saying you loved the beauty of the place."

"You are correct but I…well…"

Link had never known the princess to be at such a loss for words. He wasn't sure if her indecisiveness was humorous or if it should be concerning. He started to find it endearing, however.

"You have changed your mind?" Link asked, trying to help her.

"Not about the place but…the people in it, perhaps."

"The Zoras?"

"Not all of them…just one."

Link suddenly thought maybe the princess, like so many others, had had her head turned by the handsome Prince Sidon. For some reason, jealousy rose up inside of him, although he hesitated to label it as that.

"I understand, Princess," Link nodded.

"So, you don't like her either?"

Link snapped his head toward the princess, confused.

"I'm sorry?"

"Oh no, I spoke too freely," Zelda scolded herself.

"Not at all, Princess, I just…I thought you were referring to someone else."

"I know I shouldn't speak anything unkind about Mipha, I apologize," Zelda shook her head.

"Princess, you have nothing to apologize for," Link assured her.

"You mustn't tell my father you hear me speak with such an attitude, he would surely lock me up for weeks," Zelda said as she put her head down.

Before he could stop himself, Link lifted her chin up to make eye contact with her.

"Between the two of us, My Lady, we have plenty of secrets. Do trust me when I say I can keep one more," the hero smiled. Zelda's expression of regret and disapproval was quickly wiped away with her charming smile.

"Thank you, my hero," Zelda replied.

Zelda re-intertwined her arm with Link's and the two continued walking.

"It's not that I don't like her it's just that she…she's just so…," Zelda threw her free hand up in the air and waved it ditzily, crossing her eyes and turning one corner of her mouth up in a ridiculous, fake smile. Link immediately erupted in laughter. He'd never seen the princess so laid back and informal, nor did he ever know she could make such a face. But the funniest part of her mockery was that she was fairly accurate, and just with one second of her "explanation," Link knew exactly what she meant.

"Don't ever tell anyone I did that," Zelda remarked as she suppressed her laugh.

"You know, Princess, the list of things that I am not supposed to ever tell that you did is becoming longer each day," Link said, smirking at her. Zelda cut her eyes up at him, hoping he didn't hear her heart beat faster.

"You tell anyone that list and I'll tell everyone how I watched you eat a frog," Zelda poked her finger at him.

"I never ate a frog!"

"That frog I found in the field that day!"

"Just because you identify which frog it was does not mean that I ate it!"

"You thought about it, I could tell," Zelda insisted.

"No, you tried to force me to eat the frog. I, under no circumstances, would eat a raw, disgusting frog."

"Even if I told you to?" Zelda teased.

"You did tell me me to and I still did not!" Link laughed.

"No one else would know that if I told them!"

"So, if I tell the truths I've learned about you, you will tell a lie about me, is that what you're getting at?"

Zelda paused and thought for a moment. "That's about the size of it, yes."

"'Tis a fair deal, Princess."

They walked toward the drawing room where Link would wait while Zelda was changed back into her normal clothes for the day.

"She fancies you, you know," Zelda finally remarked, referring to Mipha.

"I…I don't believe she…," Link stammered. Zelda became nervous that he in fact fancied her too. Not that it mattered to her, she had a kingdom to run. However, she resented the idea of Link being with Mipha. Or any other girl for that matter.

"She does, Hero. I am sure of it."

"You seem awfully certain," Link said as they rounded a corner.

"I am a woman. And women have intuitions about other women," Zelda replied, back to her normal, composed self.

"If you say so, princess," Link replied.

They entered the drawing room and Zelda departed to be changed for lunch because, as she put it, a princess cannot galavant around in a skin tight suit and be expected to be taken seriously.

Anna met Zelda in her bedroom to dress her for the rest of the day.

"After lunch the hero and I are going to traverse to Lanayru, so I will just wear the travel outfit for now," Zelda told her.

"I see," Anna replied.

"Oh do not be so coy, Anna," Zelda said as she watched her lady's maid through the mirror.

"I can assure you there is nothing to play coy about, My Lady. I merely could not help but notice the hero was already on his way to greet you this morning when I left. I would imagine he was eager to begin your day, yes?"

"Perhaps," Zelda answered dryly. "However, he might just be eager to get to Zora's Domain."

"Why would that be?"

"I believe the Hero and the Zora Princess to be eager to see each other, I should say," Zelda added.

"And does that…interfere with your usual thoughts, Miss?"

"Only because I see them unfit for each other. 'Tis not my place, however, to say such to the Hero."

"If I may be so bold, My Lady, I do believe your concern about the hero's happiness is nothing to fret over. I believe him to be perfectly content with you, Your Highness."

Zelda looked up at Anna. She knew Anna could ruin her life entirely if she wanted. Zelda also knew that Anna knew much of her, more than Zelda knew herself sometimes. Anna knew what Zelda was feeling and what she was worried about. If Anna told her there was nothing to fear, then Zelda would try not to fear.

"Thank you, dear Anna."

Anna smiled sweetly and winked at the princess before taking her clothes and exiting. Zelda checked herself in her mirror and quickly made her way to the drawing room. Link sat, reading a book that was lying on a table while he waited for her.

"Shall we be off, Master Link?" she said at the door.

"Indeed, Your Grace," he replied, standing up.

The two of them ate at a large table in the dining room, Zelda at the head and Link to her right. The servants stood at attention until Zelda dismissed them, saying she had some private matters she wished to discuss with the hero. Link looked at her, questioningly, but said nothing. When they all left, Zelda cut into her cucco.

"I get tired of them standing around all the time. I'm usually by myself so I have no reason to ask them to leave, but with you here, I took the opportunity."

Link smiled at her and silently thanked her for being so lax around him. It made him more comfortable.

After they finished, Zelda and Link raced to their horses, ready to begin the day's journeys. They stopped at Purah and Robbie's lab first in order to continue research.

"We plan on stopping to take a look at Ruta before returning to the castle. I want to see how easily she is controlled," Zelda said as she was packing up her things in the lab.

"Testing out your hypothesis on Princess Mipha, I see," Robbie commented with a slight laugh. Zelda glanced at Link before quickly looking away.

"I am merely interested to see how she fairs controlling the divine beast. If she gets along fine then I am sure th—,"

"You're sure the other champions surely wouldn't have trouble controlling them if Lady Mipha can?" Purah interrupted, enthusiastically putting her hand on her hip.

Zelda pushed her nose into the air and straightened her shirt. "I never said such."

"No need, Princess Zelda," Robbie replied as he climbed off of a ladder that reached up to some books.

"If that is all you need, then we will be off," Zelda concluded, heading out the door, with a humored Link following closely behind.

After the two of them were long gone, Robbie and Purah let out a laugh.

"The princess is sweet and gentle until someone threatens to steal her knight," Purah snickered.

"A lynel itself would have trouble coming between her and her hero boy," Robbie replied.

"We shouldn't joke, Robbie, the poor princess is worried sick, that boy is the only thing that brings her comfort," Purah said, fiddling with her hair.

"Quite right. Besides, I like him being around. He smoothes her out a bit."

As Zelda and Link rode into Zora's Domain, the guards at the gate bowed.

"Princess Zelda, we did not know you were soon to arrive in Zora's Domain, we would have notified the king," one of them said with his head bowed. Zelda jumped off of her horse and walked to the guard.

"Rise, soldiers, do not worry about my coming. I am here merely to request the presence of Princess Mipha. Is she about?"

Link stayed on his horse and watched as his golden haired lab-partner transformed into her authoritative dignitary once again. He had watched her many times, and each time he was amazed at how easily she could go from a little girl riding on her horse alongside him to the fierce and noble princess that she was.

"Yes, Your Highness, she just returned moments ago. She is in the King's Quarters now," one of them answered her.

"Thank you," Zelda turned around and motioned for Link to follow her as he slid off of Epona. The two of them walked closely the entire way into Zora's Domain. Everyone stopped and bowed as they realized the princess and her chosen hero was among them. The gesture by so many made Link nervous, but he continued to walk alongside Zelda, who merely smiled at her people as she walked.

"Princess Zelda!" they heard a strong voice call from above. Link looked up to see Prince Sidon grinning at the princess. Link tried to wipe the look of suspicion off of his face. Zelda smiled widely and approached the prince. Link could not help but notice her pace quicken as she did.

"Prince Sidon, what a pleasure it is to see you again," she grinned as the prince kissed her hand.

"The pleasure is indeed all mine, Princess," Sidon replied, not catching Link's eye of disapproval. "Tell me, what brings you to the domain on such a fine day?"

"I am here to request a visit with your sister. I am sure you know of our endeavors with the Divine Beasts," Zelda replied, holding the prince's hand in both of hers as she spoke.

"Yes, Mipha has told me much about it. She admires your intelligence and perseverance in learning about the machines, Princess Zelda," Sidon gushed.

"Your sister gives me far too much credit, Prince Sidon, but I do thank you," Zelda said, smiling her sweet smile.

"On the contrary, I believe no one quite gives you enough credit," the prince replied. Zelda smiled warmly before glancing at Link and returning to her usual composed, closed manner.

"You are too kind, Prince Sidon, as is your dear sister. Is she near?" Zelda changed the subject.

"Yes, she is! Allow me to escort you and the Hero."

"Escort you to where, dear champion?"

Zelda and Link looked up the staircase to see Mipha walking toward them. The beautiful Zora princess made her way down the stairs elegantly, her spear on her back behind her royal blue silk that draped over her.

"To your presence, Princess Mipha," Link bowed to her, since the question was directed toward him.

Zelda felt something rise inside of her. She wasn't used to him bowing or referring to other women as "princess." He only called her "princess."

"I am honored to be requested by such a dynamic team," Mipha smiled at Zelda, who quickly plastered a smile on her face as well.

"The pleasure is ours, Princess Mipha," Zelda replied, charmingly. "We were hoping we might borrow you this afternoon and attempt to control Divine Beast Ruta. She is the…healthiest, for lack of a better word, of the Divine Beasts and I believe we can learn a lot from experimenting control," Zelda informed. Link studied her as she spoke to Mipha. As he predicted, Zelda was just as kind and calm as she usually was. Had the hero not heard his princess's remarks before, he would have no idea how she felt toward Mipha. He wondered just how well Zelda hid other feelings and opinions. He knew she was good at it.

"I would be delighted, Princess Zelda," Mipha replied.

Mipha was very sweet and gentle. She had healed Link numerous times during his childhood. He spent many hours in Zora's Domain when he was young, and he and the princess became close friends. But as Link grew older and spent less time in one place, he and the Zora princess drifted. Once he was revered as a skilled knight, he had little contact with her, if any. The slow decrescendo of their relationship saddened Mipha, but she knew such was the fate of Link, and herself. She too had a role to play in protecting Hyrule, and she could not belittle it with her feelings toward the hero.

"Traveling on horseback isn't quite a strong suit of mine, however," Mipha smiled at them, "So I will swim to the reservoir and meet you there before we board Ruta."

"Wonderful. We will make our way there now," Zelda cheerfully said. She couldn't help but notice Mipha cast a quick glance at Link, who nervously fidgeted with his ponytail.

Zelda and Link mounted their horses and departed for the Divine Beast.

"I hope we are able to leave Lanayru today with having made some progress," Zelda said as they rode, avoiding talking about Mipha. She was afraid Link would now think of her as conniving since he knew how she really felt about Princess Mipha. It wasn't that she disliked Mipha, per say. The Zora princess was nice enough. Zelda just felt that she lacked a bit of…reality. But Zelda knew people could say the same about her, if they didn't truly know her. She pretended day after day to be completely normal and calm, not the least bit out of sorts with the world around her. She was very good at pretending. And that is what upset her the most. She worried about how good at faking her happiness and composure she was, and the last thing she wanted to be known as by Link was a pretender.

"Are you alright, Princess?" Link asked, leaning his head into her line of sight.

Zelda smiled at the use of his nickname for her, just "Princess."

"Yes, I apologize, Link. I have been lost in thought a bit I suppose."

"Are you worried about not making any progress with Ruta?" Link asked her. Zelda looked up to see his eyes full of concern, a concern for her. The thought warmed her heart.

"I…I worry about a few things, Link," she replied, truthfully.

"That is understandable, Princess. I believe you bear quite a weight on your shoulders. And you do so ever so silently," Link said.

"You're one say," Zelda laughed, slightly. "I see you carry more weight on your own back and say barely a word about it. The only words that you speak are ones of encouragement."

"Do you think you do not do the same?"

Zelda looked up at Link, seeing he had been staring at her.

"I don't rightly know," she said after a while.

"I remain quiet and choose to bear burdens alone because I believe it to be easier for others as well as myself. I prefer to channel my outward emotions so that people are put at ease. Any internal struggle I endure I can handle. Not to mention, with so many watching the less I reveal, the less there is to scrutinize. I cannot help but notice that you tend to do the same, My Lady."

"Link," Zelda breathed. "I sometimes think that you are the only person in Hyrule that truly knows how I feel. You and I may have had different lives up until recently but…I believe that our paths have intertwined. And they have done so for a reason. Because without you, without you alongside me for every journey and conflict and fear, I am not quite sure that I could bear the burdens I do."

Link smiled at Zelda's words. He had often felt the same way about her, but it was never his place to say so. To know that she felt so close to him, it gave him all the motivation he needed to fight for and protect her, as well as her kingdom and everything she stood for.

"You know, dear princess," Link said through his charming smile. "I did not always feel that I had the strength to continue on. I felt weighted and fatigued. I wondered how I would be able to answer this call of being "the chosen hero." All of the fighting and the training and the constant fear that I would not be what everyone needed me to be became so overwhelming at times that I was certain I would fail. I felt so…heavy. But all of that weight was lifted when I met you."

Zelda's eyes immediately filled with tears. Link thought that if he were to barely touch her face, they would spill right over her cheeks.

"Me?" she asked in the silence save for the soft pat of their horses feet against the grass.

"Yes."

"Why me?"

"That is a question I often ask myself every time I strap my shield to my back," Link mused, causing Zelda to laugh as she lifted a hand to her eye quickly.

"Because of who you are, Princess. I see you willingly suffer every day for a kingdom you hold so dear. Your strength and determination that you possess with such dignity, grace, and gentility—there is something to be admired about that. At first I envied you. But now, as I have had the pleasure of accompanying you throughout your journeys and…sometimes wild expeditions, I realize that you and I have far more in common than I thouht. And that's something worth protecting."

Zelda and Link rode close enough that she was able to reach out for his hand. He took her small one and entrapped it in his.

"Thank you, Link. You have been a hero to so many, and I imagine you will be the hero to many more. But you know not of the hero you are to me."

"It is an honor, My Lady."

Zelda smiled sweetly at Link, not caring that he saw her watery eyes. The fear that she refused to label as fear that Link harbored preference for the Zora princess and faded entirely as they approached the Divine Beast.


	4. Chapter 4

**Championing Her**

 **Chapter 4**

 _Useless Efforts_

Zelda tugged at her strapless dress, rather unladylike as she rode next to Link. The hero cast his eyes at her and raised an eyebrow in amusement as Zelda would never be caught doing such in the castle.

"Comfortable?" he asked as she mumbled about how much she hated the dress.

"Wear the dress, Zelda. Travel on horseback in the dress, Zelda. Stand in freezing cold water in the dress, Zelda," she ranted. "Did no one ever think to maybe, add straps to this thing? Who traverses across _all this land and then swims in a strapless dress_?!"

"Well, you don't have to swim, My Lady. It's more like wading," Link replied.

"You put it on then and see how convenient it is for you!" Zelda rolled her eyes, not being able to conceal her smile.

"It's not really my color," the hero told her. Zelda laughed and lightly slapped his arm.

"It's not mine either. I've never looked good in white. Or this dress. But it's the replica sacred dress of the goddess and therefore I must wear it because we all know I have to be just like the goddess, right? Born of the goddess, blood of the goddess, power of the goddess, and so on and so on," Zelda trailed off.

"I disagree," Link replied. "I think you look ravishing in any color, Princess."

Zelda smiled sweetly at Link. The comment made her breath shorten and her heart run, even he probably only said so just to cheer her up.

"And I'm not just saying that," Link added, seemingly reading her mind.

"You are too kind, Hero."

"And you are too modest, Princess."

The two stared at each other for a while, reveling in each other's gaze. Zelda wished with all of her heart that Link truly meant the words, that he found her ravishing. She certainly found him to be so but no one in the kingdom thought otherwise. Surely he had a girl he thought about. One that Zelda didn't know and one he liked long before he was with her. She couldn't think about him in that way. He was her knight and she was a princess. They were, at the most, friends. And Zelda knew it could be no more than that, now.

Link often thought the same thing. Zelda was so beautiful there was surely a prince or a duke waiting for her somewhere. Politics were so embedded in her mind that he knew she would never fall for a lowly knight such as himself. Chosen boy or not, he didn't have royal blood. He had the blood of a servant: a servant to the princess. And that is what he would remain. But he saw no harm in what he decided to coin as "encouraging" her. She deserved to be told how magnificent she was. She deserved to be admired. Her features were too perfect not to be studied and her wit was too charming not to be challenged on occasion. There were far too many things about the princess that Link could not help but enjoy or admire.

The sun was setting and the two had been riding nearly the entire day. They had to wait until nightfall to go to the spring, so they decided to take a rest and let their horses drink by a stream. Link got off of his horse and then turned to Zelda.

"Here," he said, extending his arms out to her. He gripped her waist and lifted her off her horse with ease before setting her down in front of him. The pair stared at each other for a long time, Link studying Zelda's loose hair that fell to her tiny waist his hands still remained wrapped around, and Zelda reveling in her close proximity to him, feeling his hands around her while she kept hers resting on his shoulders. The sound of Epona scoffing at the two broke them from their trance. Link took the reigns of their horses and tied them to a nearby tree. He and Zelda sat at the edge of the stream and watched the water flow swiftly down to where it joined with the river.

"Do you ever miss home, Link?" Zelda asked. Thinking about Link being with another woman bothered her, but it lead her to think about his home and therefore she wondered about his feelings toward the place.

Link thought about her question for a while. "Maybe sometimes," he answered. Zelda stared at him with compassionate eyes, waiting for him to continue.

"I miss my mother the most, I think. When I think of home, I think of her. I moved with my father to Castle Town after she died, and from there I was raised in the barracks. So that became my new home. Until I moved into the palace a few months ago. Now it even feels homey there. I still long for home sometimes though, my real home," he trailed off.

"How old were you when your mother passed?" Zelda asked. She knew the question was probably too personal, but she had often wondered and it was only the two of them around, so she finally let herself ask.

"I was ten years old when she died. I moved to the barracks about two weeks after that. My dad destroyed the house we lived in. He couldn't take it, I guess. My mother died there and every time he went in he felt like it was her grave instead of his home. I can understand but at the same time I wish he hadn't."

"Where was it located?"

"We lived far east, in Akkala. Our house kind of sat on the side of a hill, so you could see for a long way."

"Do you ever go back there?" Zelda asked, wishing to see the place where her hero grew up.

"Umm," Link thought, trying to hide his sadness. "A few times I have. Not within the last few months, though."

"Why is that?"

Link sighed as a breeze caught his hair and whipped it around. In the last bit of sunlight that was slowly dimming, Zelda could see the reflection of sentiment in his eyes.

"I haven't felt the need to as much. Perhaps I just haven't been as sad about it as of late. Of course, I've been fairly busy trying to keep up with you," Link smirked at Zelda. She slit her eyes at him and grinned.

Zelda looked at his face. She studied it. He was so handsome and he looked so free. He was the embodiment of everything she had longed for—freedom, strength, dignity. Not to mention he was kind, gentle, warm, charming. To think that such a young man, so wonderful in so many ways, could be next to her, guarding her and protecting her, as well as helping her was more than Zelda could bear.

"Well excuse me, Master Link," Zelda replied, flipping her hair.

"I tease. In fact, keeping up with you has been quite a fun expedition for me. It's given me something to look forward to in each day. It makes me feel truly…joyful."

Zelda looked over at her companion. For whatever reasons she could not explain, Zelda gently leaned her head on the hero's shoulder.

"Link," she quietly said. "You should know that…whatever happens, I'll never be able to thank you enough. The time I've gotten to spend with you has reminded me what happiness and peace feels like. The days upon days that we've spent together are my most precious on record."

Link pulled his free hand up to her face and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "They are mine too, Princess. Every single one of them."

"Do you know what I wish?" Zelda nearly whispered.

"What do you wish?"

"I wish that time would freeze and that we could continue these days for the rest of our lives. Exploring, researching, riding—,"

"Eating," Link interjected, referring to the many meals he'd had with the princess that were some of the best meals he'd ever had.

Zelda giggled. "Yes, that too."

"I wish that as well, my princess. Probably more than you know."

They sat in silence for a while, watching the fish swim in the stream and listening to the birds prepare to nest for the night. As the sun set more and more, Zelda knew she had to continue on with her task.

"We should probably be going, Link," she whispered.

"You're right."

Zelda reluctantly raised her head off of his shoulder and stood up, extending her hand to help him up as well.

Once they reached the spring, Zelda started the ritual. She waded in the water and began reciting the same prayer that she usually did. She internally pleaded that she would feel something awaken within her as she prayed, but as usual, she felt nothing.

Link always felt apprehensive when Zelda went to the springs. The springs were target areas for monsters and evil magic, not to mention plain madmen that would know Zelda would be there. He always stood with his back to Zelda while she prayed because he wanted to stand guard while she was so vulnerable and distracted. He also hated her feeling so on the spot and pressured, so he thought it best to just leave her be. He knew she would pray, she would recite the oaths, pray some more, and then eventually she would turn around with the same sad expression and tell him she was sorry for making him traverse all the way there. She would feel ashamed and then he would help her out of the water and then they'd get back on their horses and go home. Such was the case many times. Except for this one.

Link waited to hear Zelda pray the final prayer, but he only heard silence. Suddenly, he heard the sound of something slapping the water. He spun around, ready to defend her, but instead he saw her thrashing her fists into the calm water of the spring.

"Curses!" she yelled. "Curse this stupid power! Curse the calamity that hangs over all of us! Curse this wretched so called gift. This isn't a gift, it is a hinderance!" Link watched in sorrow as Zelda finally cracked under the pressure that was heaved upon her every day.

"This is your fault!" she pointed her finger up at the goddess statue that stood silently before her. "You took my mother too early! She would have helped me! You left me alone to figure this out and it is you who is silent to me! Day after day I have devoted to you and I have heard _nothing_ in return! I have prayed and practiced and studied and tried with no avail! What is it that I have not done? What have I neglected to do in order to unlock this miserable power? What is it about me that you choose to ignore?" Zelda's voice cracked with each sentence she shouted until she finally began to cry. "What's wrong with me?" she barely choked out.

Link had had enough. Champion or not, he could not stand idly by while she suffered. He could not listen to her agony anymore.

The hero ran forward and jumped into the spring where Zelda willingly fell into his arms in tears. She continued to sob while Link stroked her hair with his hand wrapping his arms tightly around her while she cried into his chest.

"It's not you," he whispered. "It's not your fault."

"But it will be my fault," she said through tears. "It will be my fault if Ganon destroys my kingdom. It will be all my fault."

"No," Link eased. "It will not be your fault." He tilted his head down, closer to hers. "It will be our fault, Princess. You and me. We both have the gift of the goddess. I will go down protecting you and all you stand for. So if you go down, I will already be down there with you."

Zelda's tears continued, now for multiple reasons. Some of which still pertained to her inability to control her power but the others pertained to the chosen boy who consoled her that she knew she could not be with, despite how badly she wanted to.

Link took her face in his hands and held it up to make her look at him.

"But we won't let that happen," he said with a small smile on his face. "Because we aren't going down without a fight."

 _He is right_ , she thought. _There is still a fight to be had._

Zelda, as she had done many times in life, made herself stop crying instantly. Link was taken aback by just how quickly she could force her tears to stop and look like she had never been crying to begin with.

"You are right, Hero," she said, with not a trace of sorrow in her voice. "There is much work to be done." She released her grip on Link and inhaled, standing up straight. "This spring may not have worked, but soon I will travel to the Spring of Wisdom. Surely there will be something there."

Link nodded in response to her determined statement and followed Zelda out of the water. Soaking wet and failing to sustain her tremble, Zelda faced Link. She wrung her hair out and smiled at the hero who stood dumbfounded by her resilience.

"Motherless and teacher-less I may be, but resourceless I am not. I will just have to keep studying. Never let it be said that Princess Zelda RhoamaeHyliacia Daphneis of Hyrule is failure."

"You, Princess, are the very furthest thing from that," Link grinned as she stood with her hand on her hip.

Link lifted Zelda onto her horse and then took a blanket he had off of Epona and threw it over her shoulders to help warm her up.

"Link," Zelda grabbed onto his hand, "thank you."

Link smiled up at her and gracefully kissed her hand. "You are always welcome, Princess."

The two headed back to the castle, Zelda telling Link all about the plans for the ball thrown in her honor for her birthday the following week.

"It's all a bit daunting, but I don't mind because it's a distraction," Zelda told him as they trotted alongside each other.

"That's why we have social events. The daunt of them all offers a distraction from our actual problems," Link replied with a smirk.

"I've never heard a truer statement," Zelda laughed slightly.

It was late by the time they arrived back at the castle. Zelda was apprehensive about riding through the field so late in the night. Or perhaps early in the morning, she couldn't tell what time it was. She knew however that she didn't truly have anything to fear with Link being around.

"Looks like it's about 2:30," Link said, again reading her mind as they approached the stables. He knew Zelda had been up since the crack of dawn and was approaching a full 24 hours awake.

"No wonder I'm worn out," Zelda replied, limp, as he lifted her off of her horse. She felt like a child, being lifted and carried as she rubbed her eyes.

"You've had a trying day, Princess," Link said, adjusting her blanket up over her shoulders.

"You've made it easier," she said, a little too casually being around the stables but her fatigue caused her to not profuse her brain as easily.

Link smiled down at her, amused by how tired she was. He found it endearing.

"It's been my pleasure," he replied.

Zelda leaned her forehead against his chest with a thud.

"I'm sorry you watched me cry like an infant," she mumbled.

"You did nothing of the sort, you had just had a long day," Link tried to console her.

"You will never look at me with any dignity again," she said.

"You know that is not true," Link said, his voice a little lower. "If anything, I look at you with more admiration than I did before."

Zelda leaned her head up and looked at him. "Why? You saw me look so weak."

"No, dear Princess. I saw you look real."

Zelda smiled as a single tear slid down her cheek. Link wiped it away with his thumb, broken hearted for his sweet princess.

"Now then," he said as he held her shoulders, "You are far too exhausted to do anything else tonight. You should retire to bed."

"I need to study," Zelda replied, more firmly this time.

"My Lady, you won't be able to remember anything you study tonight anyway. Doing any research now would only take your energy away that you could spend researching tomorrow when you are more awake," he said.

Zelda thought for a moment and then nodded. "You are persuasive, Hero boy."

"I try," he smiled.

Link walked Zelda up to the outside of her room. She tried to muster whatever strength and authority she had left as they passed various guards, but Link noticed their eyes watch her as she walked by and he doubted she fooled them.

"Link," Zelda said quietly as she turned around outside her door. "I truly thank you for all you did for me today. As well as all you have done for me in the past."

"It has been and continues to be a pleasure, Miss," he said.

Zelda nodded her head and bid him a goodnight. She started to open her door but then she stopped and grabbed his arm.

"You will come to the ball, yes?"

"The ball?" Link asked. He had planned on being there but only to guard. He didn't plan on participating in anything.

"Yes, I want you there as my special guest of honor," Zelda told him.

"Oh, I—I couldn't do that, Your Highness," Link replied, referring back to formalities.

"Yes, I beg of you. The sound of another night of bowing and dancing and small talk makes my very soul shudder with boredom. You mustn't make me face it all alone, please, Link?" Zelda looked up at him with her irresistible blue stare.

"You are very persuading," Link raised an eyebrow at her.

Zelda's face broke into an all out grin as she grabbed his hand in both of hers. "Goddess bless you, Link. Thank you. I should die without you there, truly."

"Oh dear, we can't have that," Link smiled. "Although I do wonder how you managed to endure so many of these balls on your own."

"Pinch my cheeks, bite my lip, and a shot of a 'special elixir,'" Zelda teased. Link laughed at her implication as Zelda laughed at her own joke.

"No need for that this time, Princess. I'd be happy to accompany you."

"I should think I will never stop owing you, Hero."

"On the contrary, you repay me everyday, Your Majesty."

The two stared at each other for a long time, once again reveling in each others presence. Zelda hated the idea of closing the door and Link hated the idea of turning away to leave her. But both knew they must and so they did, reluctantly.

The next week was consumed by preparations of the ball. Zelda left the castle as much as she could, to her father's disapproval. But all she had to do was tell him she was training away from any distractions and he was able to allow her to leave.

"I appreciate it and I know it is a significant birthday in my life and all but…," she paused to bite into an apple as she sat next to Link under a tree in the filed, "does it have to be so…," she waved her hands around, making another mock facial expression that always caused Link to laugh.

"People like parties, especially ones inside the castle," Link explained.

"Why is that? I have always realized it but I've never really known why."

Link studied his banana. "Because it is close to you. You're the princess, your father is the king of all of this," he gestured. "They want to see where you live, what your life is like. You're the monarch of the country, they want to see you."

"They see me out here," she continued chewing.

"Yes, but they want to see you _as you_. In your element, in your home."

"I wonder what they all must think of you."

"What do you mean?" Link took another bite.

"You grew up like everyone else but now you're 'one of us,'" she said with her fingers making quotations around the words. "You live in the palace, you galavant around with me or you train with me every day. They must not know what to think of you."

"Mmm," Link thought. "Maybe some."

"Did people ever say anything to you? Before you were as revered as you are now, that is?"

"A few did," Link admitted. "They didn't like the idea of a 'commoner' playing the role I play in the kingdom. Although, it's not like I picked it for myself. Used to, I would have traded places with any one of them."

"But not now?" Zelda asked through a smile.

"Not for anything, now," Link replied.

The two smiled at each other before finishing off their snacks and throwing them into the stream nearby.

"Off to Purah and Robbie's?" Zelda said as she threw her leg over the saddle of her horse. Her father would kill her if he saw her riding anything but side saddle, but she didn't care.

"After you, My Lady," Link gestured, and the two took off.

Zelda sat as Anna fixed her hair and makeup for the ball. She was due in the ballroom in an hour and she was already nervous although she wasn't sure why.

"I love your hair curled, My Lady. It looks so elegant," Anna commented as she curled the last strand of Zelda's hair.

"Thank you, Anna."

"I decided to make your makeup reflect that of a little bit older of a woman, a more mature look, since it is your seventeenth birthday."

"I like it a lot, I am just not used to seeing myself so…complete," Zelda replied.

"Balls are the perfect events to complete yourself, Your Highness. They are all about dressing up and presenting your best self possible," Anna said giddily. Zelda could tell she was excited for the ball.

"Do you have an escort to tonight's event, Anna?" she asked, coyly.

Anna's face blushed and Zelda knew she was right in her assumptions.

"What is his name?" she asked.

"Malcolm. He is part of his royal highness's regimen," she grinned.

"Oh my, a military boy," Zelda raised an eyebrow. "How charming."

Anna's girlish smile changed quickly to a very curious smirk. "I would be inclined to assume that Your Majesty agrees. Military boys are charming, are they not?"

"If you are referring to Master Link, I would say that he is not a military boy anymore, he is my knight."

"But you would not disagree that he is charming," Anna pressed.

"Not in the least bit," Zelda answered. Anna waved her hand in front of her face, causing the flustered princess to laugh.

"Is her beautiful majesty expecting the hero to be present tonight?"

"I don't know about any beautiful majesty, but I am," Zelda replied. "And quite frankly, I'm a bit nervous. I wasn't planning on asking him to come as my guest but I did and now I am wondering what I have done."

"Princess! What an honor for him!"

"But what if he asks me to dance?!"

"Then you dance!"

"But what if I'm scared and I dance horribly!"

"You dance beautifully, I've seen you dance many times!"

"With weasel-faced dukes who were lankier than myself or with grown men who were obligated to as a respectful gesture! Not with a…goddess gifted…hand crafted…boy!"

Anna chuckled at Zelda's struggle to explain herself. The lady in waiting had never seen the princess so nervous. After Anna finished her hair and makeup, she reluctantly helped Zelda into her corset.

"I'm sorry, My Lady," she said as she pulled tighter and tighter, hearing Zelda's breath shorten with each pull. Zelda balanced herself against the back of her chair as Anna tugged.

"It's alright," she barely got out.

When Anna finally finished, she gestured to Zelda's dress. They slipped it on her and fastened it down the back. Zelda turned around to face Anna. Anna clasped her hands together, admiring her work and gazing at the beauty of a girl in front of her.

"Look at you," she breathed.

Zelda walked over to her stand-up mirror and observed herself. Her dress was dark blue with gold stitching all the way down that laid over a white, fluffier layer. It wasn't as heavy or flamboyant, as was the fashion. Hers was more tame, which was how she wanted it. The dress was a drop waist and sleepless, exposing her shoulders, but Zelda was happy it wasn't strapless.

"You are breath taking, My Lady," Anna said again.

"T-thank you, Anna," Zelda muttered. She was surprised at herself in the mirror still.

"Come come," Anna gestured toward the door. "The guests will be expecting you soon."

Zelda nodded and let Anna usher her to the doors outside the ballroom.

The trumpets sounded to announce Zelda's entrance. She heard all the noise in the room stop as she walked through the doors. Everyone turned and faced her as she walked down the isle they made for her. Zelda smiled as her eyes met with the people she passed, but she couldn't help continue scanning the crowd for Link. She made her way to the front of the room and stood still. The people watched and waited for her to say something. She hadn't planned on saying anything, but she decided she would in order to erase the awkward silence.

"My beautiful people of my beautiful kingdom of Hyrule," she stared. "I thank you all for joining me tonight in such a wonderful celebration. I am proud and honored to host such a soiree. It seems like only a few short years ago that we gathered in this same room to celebrate my tenth birthday with a coronation. I encourage you all to enjoy each of these days with which we are so blessed. Hold your loved ones close. Revel in the warmth of the sun on your skin when you are working hard under the sun. Smile at the sight of beloved and breathe in deeply the scent of your homes. Because while the days are long, the years are short." Zelda immediately spotted Link in the crowd. She swallowed her nerves and concluded her speech. "And we must remember to take not one minute of happiness for granted."

The people sat still in the silence as the princess focused her eyes only on the hero. She finally tore her gaze from him and looked out to the crowd of people in front of her.

"So, let us celebrate!" Zelda closed, causing people to cheer and the dancing to pick back up.

Link made his way to the front of the crowd and Zelda made her way to him. Just before she reached him, she was stopped by a nobleman asking her to dance. Unable to decline, she took his hand and let him lead her away, her eyes glued to Link in sadness as she did.

Zelda danced for a while before her partner was tapped on the shoulder and asked for the hand of the princess. Zelda, of course, accepted and she began to dance with him, ever still looking to find Link. She lost where he had been and sadness and longing filled her mind despite her best efforts to focus on her partner.

Three more times Zelda was asked to dance. She was getting tired and losing all hope of speaking to Link within the night, so she merely focused on her dance partner as best she could and tried not to wonder where Link was.

"Excuse me," she heard a voice say. "May I ask for the next dance?"

Zelda looked up to see Link smiling down at her, not even looking at the man she had been dancing with.

Since Link was the chosen hero and everyone in the kingdom feared him, the man gave up Zelda's hand immediately and let the two be. Zelda took hold of Link's hand, rejuvenated by his touch. She grinned upon seeing him, standing far closer to him than she had any of her other partners.

"Link," she said, observing the boy who no longer looked like a boy in his uniform. Knights were required to wear their pristine uniform to royal events so that they would be recognized as such, but never had any looked as good as Link did. His deep blue eyes were accentuated by his decorated red jacket. His usually messy hair was quite tame, not in its usual ponytail. Zelda never noticed how long and luscious his hair actually was until now. She was taken aback by just how handsome and masculine her appointed knight looked.

 _All this time, I_ _'ve been eating apples and reading ancient texts next to_ him.

"…Yes?" Link asked. Zelda forgot she had said his name.

"You look…ravishing. Truly, you took me aback," she said far too honestly.

"Thank you kindly, Princess. You look quite…radiant yourself," he replied, smiling.

"I knew you were good at sword fighting, but I was unaware of how talented of a dancer you are as well," Zelda said as Link lead her in perfect rhythm.

"I am always afraid I'm uncoordinated when it comes to dancing," Link said, sheepishly.

"Why ever would you say that?" Zelda asked.

"It is sometimes hard to find the lightness and joy that one exudes when dancing," Link replied, letting his fingertips barely graze across her waist where they rested. "But not with you," he finished.

Zelda's breath shortened and she tightened her grip on Link's hand. The couple only watched each others eyes as they danced and danced, gaining attention from every person in the room. As the music crescendoed, so did their movements. They had stolen every show in the ballroom. Dazzled citizens circled around the couple as they danced. The ballroom broke out in whispers as people watched the princess and her hero dance. Peeved women cast glances at one another, disappointed that the handsome hero commodity in front of them was clearly enamored with the princess and therefore they, or their daughters, were out of the running for him. Men nodded with looks of approval, thinking of how lucky "the boy" was and how smashing the couple really was together. They thought the princess to be getting old anyway, and they needed a good reminder that she would indeed need to wed one day.

But Link and Zelda noticed none of this. Their eyes saw only each others and their ears heard only each other's heartbeats as their movements coincided with the other's thoughts. Lost in each others grasp, they danced until the music stopped. The surrounding people cheered, breaking Link and Zelda from their trance. They quickly released each other, stepping back. Zelda prayed that her blush was hidden and Link nervously messed with his hair. They cast each other quick glances, avoiding eye contact in front of the crowd. Finally, the music picked up again and people continued dancing as before.

In the midst of the people, Zelda held on to one of Link's fingers, indicating for him to follow her. She lead him through the dancing couples and out one of the doors that lead to a hallway. Neither said anything as they hurriedly walked before they were seen. Zelda lead Link up the stairs and out onto the observation deck. The cool breeze hit their faces and they took in the scent of the night air.

"I hate people staring at me," Zelda finally said, breaking the silence.

"Me too," Link replied.

She rested her hands on the stone barrier and looked out over the kingdom.

"That is unfortunate," she whispered, "since all eyes are on us."

"They are," Link replied, suddenly at a loss for words in front of her.

"Link," she whispered again.

He liked the way she said his name. At night, alone, where no one could hear him, he whispered her name, her real name, just to see what it would sound like coming from his lips.

"Yes?" he asked.

"What do you suppose we would be, if we weren't what we are?"

"I think…," the hero pondered. "I think that you would be a scholar, as you are now. And I would be a stable owner, as I'd sometimes like to be now," he answered.

"Do you think we would be friends? Would you be friends with me if I was a scholar?"

Link turned to her. "Yes."

"Do you think…," she stopped.

"Do I think what, Princess?"

"Do you think we would be more than friends?" she whispered. She couldn't believe the words were coming out of her mouth but she could not stop them once she thought them. She turned her head to look at him. She wanted to take in all of his features when she asked.

Link immediately put his hand over her small one where it rested.

"I would be anything you wanted me to be," he said, boldly.

"Even if I were not a princess? Even if I were an ordinary person with ordinary problems and an ordinary home and did ordinary things, would you be with me?"

"I would be with you and I would never be parted from you for as long as I lived," Link said, taking her other hand in his. "I would be as ordinary as you wanted. And I would love you as extraordinarily as I do now," he breathed.

He knew he shouldn't speak such. He knew he would never be able to take it back. He knew he would regret it and he knew there would be nothing he or the princess could do about it. But with the omen the princess sensed and the time that slowly slipped from their grasp, with the hope that began to fade and the love that continued to grow, he cared not. He was already willing and most likely would die for her. He would at least tell her.

Zelda's eyes widened as he spoke. Her fingers intertwined with his and her breath shortened. Her chest remained tight (albeit she was wearing a corset) and her heart rattled her to the inner core. But she loved it all.

"And I would love you, Hero. With every stubborn, broken, strong-willed, defiant, completely mad fiber of my being, I would love you. Because even if that sword had not chosen you, I would have," she choked out before a single tear slid down her face.

Link again wiped it away with his thumb while he held her face in his hand. She leaned her cheek into his palm and longed to stay there. The two of them leaned forward and rested their foreheads on one another, Link being able to barely feel the tip of Zelda's nose against his. She struggled to hold in her tears as they embraced each other, finally. Zelda gripped tightly to the hero's torso and Link to her waist and back.

They sat in silence for a while. Both their hearts were elated to know how the other one felt, yet broken, because they knew they could not be together. They certainly could not now, but even if they were to defeat Calamity Ganon and bring peace back to Hyrule, there was no certainty that they could be together in the future. Zelda shuddered to think about the only alternative—if Ganon was not defeated that would mean they would be, and their defeat meant death. They both knew such was the case. It was that realization that kept their foreheads pressed to each others so firmly. It was that thought that fused their hands together and forced their heats to touch one another's. But it stirred something in Zelda that she hadn't felt to such capacity. It fueled her determination and increased it to a level she did not know existed inside of her.

They both knew the words in each others minds. Zelda knew Link could not and would not put her in any position to betray her royal status, and she would not set him up to be ridiculed and surely chastised for trying to woo her as the princess. She could not distract him from the fight he would have to prepare for and he could not distract her from the authorities she still ran. But at least they knew. And that was enough for them.

Zelda reluctantly pulled away from the hero and smiled. "Come with me," she whispered.

Link followed her, quickly, up a spiral staircase, down a long corridor and to large wooden doors with intricate carvings that he was sure lead to her room. The idea of going in made him uneasy, but he trusted her.

Zelda pushed the doors open and lead him over to a large book case that stood next to her desk. He had never stepped foot in the princess's room, and he took the opportunity to glance around. There was so much about her that he did not know, and so much of that was held in the very room he stood in.

The princess pushed her stool in front of the book case and stood on it. Link noticed how tightly the beautiful dress she wore fit to her form, eventuating her curves the smooth edges of her body. He tore his eyes away from her and noticed the royal bow that hung above the fireplace in her room. He wondered if it was her favorite.

The slap of a book on the ground startled him. He turned his head up toward Zelda, giving her a scolding look.

"Whoops," she shrugged. "I hope no one heard that."

"They will be looking for us soon," Link replied. The last thing he wanted was to be found sneaking off with the princess only to be located in her bedroom.

"Right after this," she insisted. Link sighed. There was no sense of jocularity in her claim to be stubborn.

Zelda sat the books she picked out on the corner of her desk and handed one to Link.

"These are all of my journals from years passed. Every day of my life is documented in these," she said. "Some are longer than others, but at least a sentence has been devoted to each day."

Link said nothing and waited for her to continue.

"With Ganon approaching, and with my power becoming harder and harder to harness…should the worst happen—,"

"Don't say that," Link stopped her.

"But if it did," Zelda continued. "I want you to have these. I want you to remember me for everything that I am, not just for what I am now. Not me as the princess, just me. Will you do that for me? Will you please take these?"

Link nodded his head and kissed her hand, praying that would not happen. Still yet, the fact that she would leave them to him was an honor.

"One more thing," Zelda mentioned as she shoved her stool back under her makeup table. "All of these books," she gestured to the rows upon rows that lined the walls in her room, "are ones I have filled with notes and various studies. These are yours as well."

Link snapped his head toward her, dumbfounded.

"Princess, I-I couldn't—,"

"This is my life's work, Link. And you are the only person I trust with them."

"But Robbie and Purah and Impa," he stammered.

"Do not know me," Zelda finished. "You know me. Should something in battle, these will be yours as well. Do not let all of my work go to waste. And promise…not to forget me…," she finally stated.

"Not in all of my days," Link replied. "I could never forget you, Princess."

"And I could never forget you, my Chosen One."

Link hated to think about what would happen should he lose the princess in battle. He swore that if she was cut down in the potential battle with Ganon it would only be because he was already dead. But he knew in the back of his mind that he would have to give her a chance to seal Ganon away. And in that window of opportunity, there would be a chance that her magic would fail and she would be taken down up by the Calamity.

Link shook his head to try to stave off the thought.

"We should return to the ball," Zelda whispered.

"It is your birthday, after all," Link replied with a sad smile.

"It is indeed."

The two made their way down the corridor and down the stairs, back into the ballroom. They mingled about with people, Link talking to various officers and military men and Zelda conversing with the ladies and Anna. Link winked at Zelda from across the room as she walked and she was afraid she might faint. They perpetually searched for each other, though, making eye contact whenever possible. No amount of conversation could distract them from the other, and no subject on earth could keep them from thinking about the fact that they loved each other.

When the evening was finally over and the guests finally began to retire, Zelda found herself slowly inching toward Link. He gracefully ended conversation with some gentleman from the regimen and turned his attention toward her.

"I hope your birthday celebration was a success, Your Highness," he said coyly.

"'Twas indeed, Hero. I do thank you for attending," she curtsied.

"It was quite the honor," Link replied, formally bowing to her. Every eye in the room was glued to the pair as they talked, and they had to try hard to contain their grins.

"I do think I will retire for the night. Shall I see you tomorrow morning before we depart?" Zelda asked. They were to leave for the Spring of Wisdom in the morning, but Zelda did not want the people to hear that.

"Yes, Your Grace. I shall be ready at your disposal," Link smiled.

"Wonderful. I will see you tomorrow then, Hero."

Link bowed again, kissing Zelda's hand as he did, unable to take his eyes off of her, nor her off of his. She slowly turned her back and exited.

As Zelda laid in her bed, she thought of the events of the night: the dance, the confession she had no idea would come out of her mouth so soon, and the feeling of Link's arms wrapped around her. She closed her eyes, no longer fearful of the nightmares that plagued her. Because she was ready to face whatever may come, as now she had nothing left unsaid to haunt her.

* * *

 **A/N: That escalated quickly. My bad.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Championing Her**

 **Chapter 5**

 _Loss_

"Link!" Zelda shouted over the roar of Calamity Ganon. Link rolled out of the way just before a massive piece of debris fell on top of him. Zelda evaded the slice of a blade and thrust her shield back at the creature, just as Link had taught her so many months before.

" _Where_ ," she thought as she slashed her sword, " _Where did it all go_?"

"The Beasts! Their power is depleting!" Link yelled.

Zelda glanced up to see the powerful blue beam of the Divine Beasts to be gone.

"No," she mumbled, stumbling backward. "It can't be. They're…they're all…,"

Noticing her distraction and regaining its power, Calamity Ganon locked its glowing eyes on Zelda and moved in, targeting her.

"Princess!" Link shouted, but she did not hear him, she only continued to stare up at where the blue beam used to glow. "Princess!"

Link rushed forward and grabbed her, throwing her out of the way just in time to dodge the laser that pierced through the very spot she was standing, but not before it grazed his leg first.

The two cried out in pain as they hit the ground, rolling over crushed stone and debris.

"Agh! Link! Your leg!"

"Don't worry, find safety!"

"No!" the defiant princess yelled over the victorious screech of Ganon as she pushed herself up and ran toward the foul beast.

"Princess!" Link yelled as he ran after her, barely making it in time to block her from a hit. "You have to get out of here, now!"

"I'm not leaving you!" she yelled as he slashed away at the monster.

"I can't risk you getting hurt!"

They both dodged and rolled away from another swipe of the massive sword Calamity Ganon wielded.

"I can't risk _you_ getting hurt! This isn't about protecting the princess anymore, Link!"

"It's about—protecting— _you_!" he screamed between attacks.

Link ran toward the monster and continued to fight, knowing it was doing no good. Ganon was no longer responding to the attacks. But Link had to keep it focused on him in order to give Zelda a chance to escape.

The princess thrust her hands toward Calamity Ganon, begging the goddess to aid her with the sealing power she knew she possessed somewhere in her.

"Why…won't…you… _help me_! _Why can't I do this!_ " She knew it was no use. She couldn't keep wasting time. She had to get him out of here. Blood still oozed from his leg that he somehow still stood on, fighting and fighting. She knew it would be pointless to continue. She yanked the sheikah slate from her belt. The screen was cracked and barely flickered on. She shook it violently and feverishly typed in warping coordinates.

"Come on come on come on," she mumbled, feeling drops of sweat slide down her face. Finally, the screen became bright and was ready to warp.

Zelda ran behind Link, ducking as Ganon's laser barely missed the top of her head.

"You have got to get out of here, now!" Link yelled at her.

"I told you I won't!"

"That's an order!" he screamed at her, barely turning his head to look at her. He saw the slate in her hand and he immediately knew her plan. "Get out of here! Go! I told you to get to safety!"

"I told you _I take orders from no one!_ " she screamed as she gripped tightly to his hand, pulling him toward her as they both were lifted from the ground in the sacred blue light. In the last seconds, she caught him staring down in shock as he was engulfed in the light.

When they emerged, they saw that unworldly clouds had gathered around the land, causing a wild storm to rage over the once peaceful terrain.

Zelda and Link's ears rang from the sudden silence.

"Why didn't you leave me to fight?"

"Because it is useless! We have to reassess our enemy, we have to reconfigure our attacks, we-we h-have to…we have to…keep…," Zelda ran her fingers through her now wet hair in the rain, feeling her sanity slowly slip away from her. The panic that she had felt for so long now boiled over, and her despair began to engulf her. Never, in all of her life, had she felt so hopeless.

"Princess, try to—,"

"Try to what, Link? What is the use of anything now?! They're dead! They're all dead and it's all my fault! I left them all, I failed them all! I watched my father die and wasn't able to stop it! If I can't awaken my power in order to save his life in front of my very eyes then what, tell me what will! His blood, his own blood on my hands! My stupid hands that aren't able defeat any goddess forsaken creature on this goddess forsaken earth!"

Link ran toward her as she collapsed into his arms.

"This is my fault! This is all my fault! They're all dead because of me!"

Link tightened his grip around her as she cried.

"I…I'm so sorry, Princess. I'm so sorry."

Zelda sobbed into his chest, Link not caring to wipe away his tears that ran down his face alongside the raindrops that now soaked his skin.

"Tell me, Hero, do you still believe this is what we were designed to do? Was this horrid failure always inevitable in my life? Is this the destiny I have been called to receive? And am I still expected to accept, honor, and treasure it with the reverence and sacredness it demands?"

"Your father willingly gave his life—,"

"He willingly gave his trust to me and I failed him. Just like the Champions, I failed them!"

"They knew the risks of this mission!"

"They weren't betting on the outcome!"

"They weren't betting on anything!" Link grabbed her shoulders. "And pretending their fate rested solely on your shoulders will get you no where!"

"How can you be so resolved about this?!" she yelled.

"Because we don't have a choice! There is nothing we can do! We can't bring them back, we can't change their fate! This was their fate that they were willing to accept from the beginning, and now you have to accept yours!"

Zelda stared at him, taken aback by the brutality in his honesty. He was right, and she knew he was. Feeling bad for being so sharp, Link lightly moved the hair out of her face from where it stuck to her forehead.

"In that case," she nearly whispered, once again composed. "We have to go back."

"Yes…we do."

"There may be little left of my kingdom after this is over, and therefore little to fight for, now. But there is one thing I will continue to fight for long after this, one thing that I put every bit of my hope in in order to make it to the end."

"What is that, Princess?"

"You. And my ordinary life with you."

Link locked his hand with hers and the two started their journey forward.

Since her sheikah slate crashed after her last warp, they had to travel on foot. The rain made the traveling harder, not to mention Link's leg was still cut and Zelda took some damage herself on her arm.

They walked in silence, but the tight grip each kept on their hands was enough to convey what they felt.

"Hm," Link mumbled.

"What?"

"This doesn't feel right," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"It seems awfully quiet for Ganon being free."

"Maybe his powers haven't had time to fully awaken th—,"

A high pitched beeping interrupted the princess's false theory. A red dot appeared on her waist and she quickly pushed Link out of the way as she jumped back, evading the laser.

"Stalker!" Zelda pointed to a hill far off that had concealed a stalker guardian. Link quickly ran toward the machine to take it down.

"They have all turned against us," Zelda mumbled, violently looking around her surroundings. Suddenly, other guardians emerged through the wooded areas and from behind grassy, rolling hills.

"Link!" she yelled, summoning her hero.

Link took out the first guardian, receiving multiple hits, as Zelda ran toward the next with her sword drawn.

 _She won't be able to defeat it. There are too many surrounding her._

While he was distracted, the guardian used one of its spidery legs to knock Link off of it. He landed on the ground, sure he had broken a rib, but quickly stood back up and beat the guardian into defeat.

Zelda slid under the beam of the laser and got as close as she could to another guardian.

 _I should have known she'd try to anyway…_ Link grumbled, internally, running toward the scene.

Zelda did defeat the first guardian, but not without gaining the attention of three others.

"It's impossible!" Link shouted as he grabbed her arm, slick with blood, pulling her away from debris. "There are too many!"

"We have no other choice!" Zelda said back. Link swung her around and hid her against a crumbled wall of before another guardian spotted them. The previous three had already lost their path, but Link and Zelda could hear the beeping that indicated their search. The pair hushed their voices, which the rain luckily drowned out.

"Princess, you have to make a run for it. I'll stay here and fight off the guardians so you can get away—,"

"No," Zelda interrupted. "I didn't do that in the castle and I'm not doing that here."

"But out here you have a chance, if you just make it out of the fort you can run to a village near by so that you can—,"

"So I can find safety? And then get help and try to fight back? So that I can lose more people? So more blood will be on my hands? What is at the end of all of this? I've lost my home, my father, my kingdom, and the only thing I'd known as family—I will not lose you too. If I were to run and leave you here, knowing full well I would leave you to fight to your death, I would be running from the only reason I have left to live."

"You have a country! You have people—,"

"I have _nothing_ except the hope that I will be with you!"

"That hope will have to be let go of, but the kingdom does not have to be."

"I no longer have a kingdom. It is in Ganon's hands now," Zelda said, coldly.

"The future isn't!"

" _Your_ future isn't!" she gripped his hand once more. "Please, Link. Don't make me leave here alone. Don't leave me," she whispered, her voice breaking.

Link held her cheek in his blood covered hand.

"I can't let you die," he whispered.

"And I won't let you die," she replied.

"My princess—,"

The high pitched noise of a guardian pierced the quietness and the target appeared on Zelda's chest, picking her as its next victim.

"Link, run!" she yelled. But her hero did not listen. Link threw Zelda out of the way right as the laser split the air. Link felt the heat of the beam tear through the flesh on his arm.

Zelda ran toward the guardian, sword drawn. Before she could get to it, the laser escaped its eye, aimed right for her. She did the only thing she could think to do, attempt to bat the beam back toward the guardian. Her aim was right, but the strength of her sword could not sustain the heat of the laser and it shattered, sending shards of the blade into her flesh. She cried out in pain as her hero raced toward her.

"Link, please! Please go, Link, I can handle this! It'll be okay, please!" She knew none of her words were true. She knew she wouldn't be able to take on all the guardians and she knew she would die here. She wanted to die here. She would be the princess that was lost in battle and she would not have to live with the shame of being the princess that lost the throne. Link could rebuild the kingdom. They would probably crown him as king, and he would do a better job than she ever could. She needed him alive. Her people needed him alive. And she needed to die.

Before she could stop him, Link shoved Zelda behind him and used himself as a human shield, protecting her from the guardian that stood in front of them. He used every ounce of his strength left to try to protect her. The guardian's eye began to glow with the blue heat, seconds before shooting its deadly laser at Link.

 _This can't happen_ , she thought. _I can't let this happen. I can't let him die._

"Just…let me…," Link said through sharp gasps.

"No!" Zelda screamed, reaching out instinctively to block the laser from hitting him. She embraced herself to feel the pain of the laser singeing her flesh. But what happened instead surprised her.

All of the sudden, Zelda's hand began glowing with a golden light. It was so bright she could not look at it. It escaped from her hand and grew all around her, engulfing everything around them. When she opened her eyes, the guardian that had been trained on them was dead and unmoving. She looked around and noticed all of the other guardians which were previously alive were now dead as well.

"What…," she breathed, observing her hand. "Was that the—,"

The sound of a thud against the ground broke her from her stupor. She turned around to see Link lying lifelessly on the ground.

"Link!" she yelled, running to him, sliding on her knees through the mud. "No, no no no no!" she continued yelling.

She held his head up and cradled him in her arms. Blood oozed from his chest and his arm. She placed her hand over the wound to try to slow the bleeding, knowing it would not do any good.

"It's okay, Link. It's going to be alright," she soothed. While his lips remained shut, his eyes were open, staring right into hers.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you, I promise…," she choked out.

Link leaned his head against her, reaching up and touching his hand to her face, smearing the blood and rain that was on her face.

"Zelda," he breathed. It was the first time he had ever called her by name. The first time he had ever spoken to her, not as a princess, but as a woman.

"Yes?" she asked though her tears.

"Promise me you will continue on," he barely got out.

"I can't without you—,"

"Promise me," he said, pulling her closer to him.

Zelda let out something between a moan and a whimper of despair as he spoke.

"Okay," she nodded. "Okay."

"Promise me that," he coughed, struggling to get out the his last words as he felt his strength leaving him with every second, "you'll always know that I did it all for you. Because I—I-I love you, Zelda."

"And I'll always love you," Zelda sobbed, leaning her forehead against his as his eyes finally fell shut.

"No," she cried, holding his head in her chest. "No no no, not like this. Please, not like this."

She continued to sob, knowing that he was gone.

"You finally called me by my name," she whispered in his ear, knowing he wouldn't hear her. She wished so badly she could see him look at her again. He would call her Zelda and she would smile, playfully teasing him about finally learning her name. He would laugh and say he always knew her name, then he would wink at her and her heart would melt in his hands. She would tell him to call her by her name more often when it was just the two of them and not tell anyone and he would add that to the list of things he wasn't supposed to tell anyone about. Then they would both laugh and he would briefly hold her hand until they reluctantly had to let go.

"What will I do?" she cried into his chest. "What will I do without you? I was so alone before I met you. And now I'm even more alone without you."

The rain continued pouring down around her. She was sure the sheikah would be looking for her. She knew they would come and tear her away from his body, leaving the rest out of her hands and taking her to safety where she would grieve and grieve and no one would know the depths of her sorrow.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry I couldn't save you."

In the silence, she heard the calls of her human guardians, the sheikah men designated to protect her in travel between countries. But she cared not.

Suddenly, a new noise rang out. It was a sound that she found to be quite familiar, although she was certain she'd never heard it before. She looked down to see that the Master Sword, Link's sword, was glowing and pulsing with a heavenly light.

 _He is not gone…_

She looked around, certain her mind was playing tricks on her. But there was no one around.

 _The shrine…_

"The sword?" she said aloud.

 _Yes…_ , the inner depths of her mind whispered.

"He can still be saved?"

 _The shrine of resurrection_ _…_

"Princess!" Zelda heard a man's voice cry out. She flinched at the word "princess," remembering all the times she'd heard Link refer to her as that.

"Are you alright?!" the two sheikah men bowed before her.

Zelda looked up with newfound determination, not answering their question.

"Take Link to the Shrine of Resurrection," she commanded, not caring that she used his name. "If you do not get him there immediately we are going to lose him forever. So make haste, and go! His life is now in your hands."

Zelda watched as the two men carefully picked up Link's body. Every instinct rang for her to caudal him and not let him go, but she knew she had to part with him. This was her only chance to ever see him again in the future, and that thought was enough to force her to press on.

"I'll see you again, Link," she whispered to herself as the sheikah men carried him away. She knew it would be decades, possibly ages, until Link woke up again. He would be frozen in the shrine and time would be irrelevant to him. And to her, in the place she knew she would end up.

Zelda picked up his sword, feeling every bone in her body scream. She had taken more hits than she realized. But now was not the time to worry about any broken bones.

The lone princess ran to Hateno Village, which was luckily not far from where the catastrophe took place. She hated the thought of having to see her people, but she knew she had no choice, once again.

"P-Princess Zelda!" the man at the gates shouted, quickly falling to his knees on the ground. Zelda felt a pang of guilt wash over her.

 _Bowing to me as if I demanded reverence_ , she thought. _What have you to respect of me?_

"I am in need of a horse, quickly!" she cried.

"Princess Zelda!" she heard the cry of a woman from up the path.

People began to surround the princess, horrified by the blood she was covered in, some of her own's, some of Link's.

"What can we get you?"

"Are you alright?"

"Someone tend to her injuries!"

"What's happening to the kingdom?"

Zelda's head spun as the people bombarded her. A man yelled at all of them, parting the crowd with a horse Zelda asked for. She threw herself over the saddle, throwing any concern about side saddle by the wayside.

Zelda scraped up whatever authority she had left. "Calamity Ganon has returned."

The people gasped in horror. Women cried and mothers sent their children back inside their houses.

"What does that mean?" someone yelled over the crowd.

"For now, you are safe here. But I suggest you all prepare for battle. Board up your homes in case any monsters decide to roam into the village. Men, protect women and children. Women, prepare the best elixirs and medicines that you can for any wounded you may have. I don't presume an ambush will happen, but it is best to be prepared just in case. Should the worst happen, escort the children to safety until danger has passed," she told them. There was no use in trying to save their fears. She had felt this fear for almost a year now.

"Isn't that the hero's sword?"

Zelda's throat closed up. "Yes."

"Where is the hero? Why isn't he with you? Will he watch over us?"

Zelda inhaled sharply. The truth was the only thing she could tell them. These people would likely not see him ever again.

"The hero is dead."

This time, people began to wail and cry. Zelda's stomach churned and she became grateful she hadn't eaten since the massive ball the night before.

 _Right before he told me he loved me…_

"How could this happen?"

"What will we do?"

"What will _you_ do?"

"I will make preparations to destroy Calamity Ganon. I have seen the monster with my own eyes. I know how he fights."

"Does this mean you will continue to fight him?"

Zelda made eye contact with nearly every person that surrounded her.

 _Promise me you will continue on_ , Link's voice rang through her head. His dying words were for her to continue to fight.

"Yes," she answered.

She turned her horse around toward the exit of the village. "Hold up here until you hear otherwise."

"What do we do until then?" another voice called out.

"Pray," Zelda replied before letting out a harsh, "Hya!" and slapping the reigns on her horse.

* * *

 **A/N: Yeah, I changed it a little. I like the idea of Zelda fighting alongside Link better.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 _Continued_

 _Promise me you will continue…_

 _Good morning, Princess!_

 _I made an oath to risk mine to protect you, Princess. You owe me nothing._

 _I have faith in you, Your Highness._

 _As you wish, Princess._

 _I think you look ravishing in any color, Princess._

 _Of course, I_ _'ve been fairly busy keeping up with you._

 _Not for anything, now._

 _It_ _'s our secret, Princess._

 _Then you should have both oatmeal and apples, Princess._

 _I prefer green. I think green is such a wonderful color._

 _I would be anything you wanted me to be._

 _I did it all for you._

 _I love you, Zelda._

 _Promise me you will continue on._

 _My princess_ _…_

 _Princess_ _…_

"Princess…,"

Link's voice ricochetted off the walls of Zelda's mind as she stared at the Master Sword. She remembered all the times she had seen him wield his sword, all the times she saw it strapped on his back, the sound of it clanking against his shield as they walked through the fields, the sound of him unsheathing it when he thought danger was near, ready to protect her, the relief she felt when she saw it block her line of sight to the Yiga Clan member after Link saved her. She couldn't get his image—his voice, his smell, the feeling of his hair brush against her, his grip on her waist, his grin in the shade, the sound of his breathing, barely audible over the rain whilst they sought shelter under a tree—out of her mind. All of her memories with him flooded her soul as she doubled over in pain that came from her heart.

"Princess, you must collect yourself," the Great Deku tree said. It was his voice that she heard saying Princess, not Link's. That realization only made it worse.

"I…can't…," she said through gasps.

"The Hero is safe now, Your Majesty," the Deku Tree replied.

"But he won't…he won't be able to…,"

"His memory will not be lost forever, my child," the Great Tree said, sympathetically. He already knew the depth of the Princess's care for her hero. That much was clear by the way she cradled his sword the minute the girl fell at the Great Deku Tree's base, begging for help.

"How do you know?" she whimpered.

"You forget how many heroes I have seen," the wise tree reminded her. "I have seen memories pass through new life, old deaths, and thousands of generations. I know he will be able to recover his memories, even if it is not for years."

"What if he never remembers me? What if he doesn't remember who I am to him? What if he forgets all that we—," Zelda was cut off by her tears.

"I can speak with confidence that a face like yours, and a heart of such warmth, is impossible to forget, Your Grace."

Zelda wiped her eyes and looked up at the Great Deku Tree with a sad smile.

"Do you really think so?"

"I am certain of it, dear one."

"T-thank you."

She knew she had to finish her task. She could not just continue grieving. No matter how lonely she was. She had work to do.

Zelda picked up the Master Sword and held it in her hands.

"Your master will come for you," Zelda whispered as she held the last piece of her knight she had. His fingerprints still lingered on the sword, left in his blood before he dropped it in his last fight for her. "Until then, you will rest safely here."

"If I may be so bold, what is it you plan to do now, Princess?"

Zelda inhaled sharply.

"There is still a fight to be had," she replied, quoting Link. "I may not have much strength left, but I have hope to hold on to, and that is enough to aid me."

"I sense great strength in your dedication."

"I ask of you one thing," Zelda said, stepping forward toward him.

"What is that, Princess?"

"Can you please tell him…tell him that I-I—,"

"If I may, Your Highness, words intended for him to hear would sound much better in the tones of your lovely voice, would they not?"

Zelda smiled sweetly at the Great Deku Tree.

"Thank you," she replied.

Zelda held the sword in the air and gracefully thrust it into the pedestal. After bidding the Great Deku Tree farewell, she made her way through the Forest. The little Koroks awed over her presence, cooing lightly as she walked by and bowing to her. Zelda smiled sweetly at the precious beings, trying to hide her guilt. Her only consolation was that she knew the Koroks would be safe in the forest. The Great Deku tree had protected them for centuries.

The princess paused at the exit of the forest. She took a deep breath. Zelda and Link hadn't traveled through the Lost Woods before. She was reluctant to go in before, because the eerie woods had frightened her since she was a child. Now, after the events that took place, she felt even more alone than she already was.

She kept her head and swiftly made her way through the dark woods. Suddenly, something caught onto her and pulled her to a halt. Zelda let out a small cry as she fell to the ground, hearing something tear. She looked down and saw that her very inconvenient dress had been caught in a thicket and the hem had been shredded. She wasn't upset, though. Quite frankly, it made walking easier. She sat on the ground and tore the rest of the hem off, leaving the dress to fall just at her knees. She stood up and did a small twirl. It was the most relieved she'd felt in a while.

"That's better. I should have done that earlier," she mumbled as she made her way through the Lost Woods, making even better time.

When the princess emerged, she let out a sigh of relief. She came to the edge of a tall cliff, allowing her to see over her beautiful kingdom. In the distance, she could clearly see her castle, now tainted by the malice that swarmed around it.

"I have no choice," she mumbled to herself.

The lone princess slid down the rocky hill and made her way to the castle. She was careful to avoid any guardians that she heard roaming around, but she made little noise and was able to sneak past them. Hours passed as she traversed, the time seeming to go much slower since she did not have her brave companion alongside her. She thought of him without ceasing, wondering how many of his memories would be gone by the time he woke up.

 _I can_ _'t think about that. I have a task. If I want to see him again, I have to do this._

Zelda decided to instead focus her energy on summoning her magic. Whenever she though of Link, the sacrifices he'd made for her and all that he had done for her, she could feel her power surge through her.

She neither ate nor slept as she marched on. She carried neither sword nor shield. She intended to hide behind nothing. She had her power. She had Link's image in her mind and her mother's spirit in her soul. She had his courage. His bravery. She had a promise to uphold. Like a gravedigger with a shovel over his shoulder, headed for another day's work, so she walked. She did not cry. She did not tremble. She merely walked.

When she reached the outskirts of Castle Town, she stopped. She was certain had she had any food in her system she would have surely lost it then. Her city had burned to ashes, the last embers of its people and its buildings barely aglow. The only thing that still stood was the tattered Hyrulian flag that lightly waved in the breeze from the smoke. Debris littered the ground and dust littered the air.

But there was something still alive in the city. One heartbeat besides her own. She raced toward the castle doors, jumping over crushed buildings and stone as she ran.

"Epona," she said, calling the loyal horse who stood outside the gate. "Dear Epona," she said so as to not startle the brilliant steed.

Epona giddily greeted her, nuzzling her snout into the princess's golden hair.

"I'm so happy to see you too, girl," Zelda cooed, running her hands through the horse's mane.

Zelda looked in Epona's eyes. Zelda could tell that even she was full of worry. She knew her master was amiss.

"He is gone, Epona," Zelda said, her voice wavering. "He is gone. I'm so sorry."

Epona snorted in what Zelda took to mean disbelief.

"I'm so sorry," she said, trying to hold her tears back. "You are the only thing left of him now."

Epona shoved her head toward Zelda, comforting her.

"But there is still hope for him. He was taken to a place where he will heal. He…probably won't remember us when he wakes up. If he ever wakes up."

Zelda looked up to the castle where Ganon thrived. Her home. Her people. Her hope. Her hero. Ganon had taken it all from her.

"I know you loved your master, Epona. I did too."

Epona's chestnut eyes stared into Zelda's with such a solemness that Zelda swore she knew what she was saying.

"I loved him far more than I realized, you see. He has me in the palm of his hand. He brought back my smile. He brought back my laugh and my desire to explore. He even brought back my appetite," Zelda giggled, remembering all the times she wouldn't have eaten had Link not encouraged her to try some royal dish he was a fan of. "So you see, Epona, I have no choice but to go back and fight, and wait for him to wake up. I don't know if I can seal Ganon on my own. But I have to try to do something. I promised him I would."

Epona whinnied in discontent as Zelda started to leave. The princess turned around and hugged the beautiful steed whispering in a comforting tone that everything would be alright, although she said it to herself more than she did the horse.

"Run, dear Epona. Run for safety." Zelda unbridled and unsaddled Epona, letting her be completely free of any gear. "You will have a better chance of making it without all of this," she smiled. "Go now."

Epona, knowing she was free due to being unbridled, began to trot away. Zelda watched as the last thing she knew of Link began to run into the distance. Epona was the fastest horse in the kingdom, Zelda knew she could outrun any monsters that dared approach her.

Just before the princess turned to leave, something caught her eye. She noticed something glint in what little light the sky provided. Zelda bent down and picked up a small blue earring off of the ground, one she had seen many times hanging from Link's ear. It must have fallen out of his gear when she took it off of Epona.

The token of him brought tears to Zelda's eyes, causing her to feel the pain and sorrow she had successfully put aside once more. She knelt down and untied a small, rolled up blanket from Link's saddle and shoved her face in it, taking in the scent of him. It smelled like oranges and the outdoors, just like he always did. She hugged it close to her, wiping her tears on it. She knew Link wouldn't mind. Just before she placed it down, she noticed something fall out of the blanket. On the ground, in what had been wrapped up, was a small, blue flower. A silent princess. Zelda's favorite flower. She picked it up and held it in her hands, gently, recalling the time she told Link about her love for the delicate flower.

"You took him from me," she said as she watched the evil clouds of malice swirl around her castle. "And I will take everything from you."

Zelda clipped the earring on her left earlobe, placed the flower in her braid, stood up, and proudly walked across the bridge into what was once her magnificent home.

She knew every in and out of the castle, so she was easily able to make her way to the center where she knew Ganon lurked. She cared not if he knew of her entrance. She wanted him to know she had arrived.

Zelda walked into the sanctum and looked around. All was quiet, and it appeared empty. But she knew he was there.

Suddenly, Calamity Ganon, in its disgusting insect form, fell from above her and landed feet in front of her body, screeching and hissing. Zelda did not flinch at the sight of the hideous monster. She merely held her hand out, summoning her power. Her hand began to illuminate the holy light. The golden light extended from her palm and surrounded the monster. Ganon writhed and twitched in pain as she watched him shrink from the restraint her power placed on him.

The princess held fast as she forced her power with all of her might. Ganon inched his way toward her. She held her breath, keeping her mind focused on restraining the beast. In a fit of rage, Ganon lunged forward, using the last bit of strength it had, and wrapped its jaws around the beautiful princess. The last thing she saw being its horrid mouth closing in around her.

Black surrounded her. She tired to make out where she was, but found nothing in return. She only saw black. Her head throbbed and her body felt drained. She could not see her body, but she could still feel it.

A yellow light pierced the darkness around her. Then another. They seemed to grow. No, they were getting closer to her. They were familiar.

All at once, the crimson flames lit up around the eyes, framing the face of what Zelda knew to be Calamity Ganon. She screamed in horror. She had entered another realm with the being. This was her battlefield. She had sealed his body, but not his existence. The monster's roar pierced her ears and Zelda instinctively tried to shut her eyes. But she could not. Even if she made the action of what felt like shutting her eyelids tight, Ganon still plagued her vision.

Zelda summoned her power once more and watched as two golden chains wrapped around its legs. She struggled to keep the chains there, feeling Ganon become weaker as she held them tight. She felt like she was physically holding the chains down herself, being pulled and thrusted in every direction with the monster. Only it wasn't just her body that hurt every time this happened, it was her soul.

The princess felt violated, penetrated, trapped. She felt like she was lost and in a perpetual struggle with the beast of her nightmares. A mental and physical battle, one she knew she deserved. It was her fault that it came to this. Link was right, there was still a fight to be had. And this would be hers. Trapped between the real world and hell, locked in a wrestle with the embodiment of fear and hatred that threatened to overtake her world, unable to fully overtake him on her own.

It was the thought of Link that kept her able to continue using her magic. It was the thirst for revenge for her father, Urbosa, Mipha, Rivali, and Daruke that kept her strong enough to hold down Ganon. And it was her hope that Link would come to aid her that gave her the endurance to continue fighting against the Calamity.

While the monster was chained to her, it tormented her. Since her soul was bound to it in an eternal struggle, irrelevant to time or setting, it was able to feed thoughts into her mind. Scenes of her father dying over and over flashed in her mind. The screams of her beloved champions echoed around her. Even Link's voice, cold and cruel or sometimes calling out in pain and anguish rang through the darkness. Zelda struggled to ignore them and focus every bit of her energy on keeping the beast restrained. Link's lifeless body fell next to her, real enough that she could reach out and touch it if her body still existed in this realm. Which made matters worse, because now she could neither run nor turn away from the scene.

For what seemed like ages Zelda lived in this moment. She had no idea how long it had been. Time did not exist. She only continued to hold Ganon back. The feeling of comfort alluded her. Happiness was merely a memory. Peace was a lie. Hope was a loss. Memories were irrelevant. The only thing that Zelda held on to was faith. Faith in her hero. She held on to faith that he would return to help her fight. She held steadfast to the faith that he would soon wake up. And when he did, she would be sure that Ganon was still weak enough for Link to defeat. She hadn't been able to help him the first time. She merely helped him escape. She had failed him once. She would not fail him again.

Ganon never stopped fighting against her. It struggled and heaved in anger. Its restraints only fueled its hatred toward the light Zelda wielded, determined to torment, harass, and torture her for an eternity. Zelda wondered if this was truly what hell was. Every woman's pain of being defiled, every lover's sorrow of being torn from their beloved, every brother's betrayal, every father's disappointment, every friend's loss—they all were laid upon her, over and over again.

Until…it became quieter. Link's screams became quieter, Mipha's cries became softer. Less bodies she was responsible for killing fell at her feet.

 _He is awakening_ , she thought. _He is finally waking up._

Ganon's struggle became more evident, confirming Zelda's hope that her hero was finally returning to her.

"Link," she whispered. "Help me, Link. I'm waiting for you. Come to me, Hero. Come find me."

Feeling his presence resonate in her from the outside world, Zelda became stronger. She felt rejuvenated, refreshed, reborn. She kept Ganon's power at bay with more determination than she had for the timeless moment she had been trapped inside him.

Zelda tried to shout through the realms and malice that separated her and her beloved. She used every ounce of her strength to call out to him. Finally, she felt her power fading. She had held on as long as she could. She cried out in pain, trying to keep the chains she had bound Ganon in for so long in tact. Her light was dwindling. Her spirit was fading. She was losing her strength second by second.

"Link," she called out one last time, believing this would be the last thing she ever said to him. "I can't hold on any longer. I'm sorry, Link. I'm so sorry."

Zelda had finally succumb to the darkness, losing the rest of her light as it was sucked up by the Calamity. She expected to die. Soon, she would feel nothing. She was distraught to leave Link, devastated she would not spend the rest of her life with him. All of the fighting she had done, all of the sorrow, all of the loss she endured and she would not have him with her. But she was not afraid. Had it not been for Link, she would have welcomed the prospect of death long before now. Even now she was not entirely opposed to it. He would surely join her at some point. And then, then they would truly be together. Yes, the princess would be united with her knight one day.

As Zelda prepared for the nothingness that would soon overtake her, she heard the roar of Calamity Ganon.

"Yes," she heard her thoughts mumble, "make him suffer a while longer, Link. You can do it."

But instead of feeling her light collapse in on itself, she felt reawakened. The princess was suddenly struck with an immense amount of life and light as she was raised up in her dark realm.

"Yes," she said louder. "Link!"

She could feel Ganon's power decreasing. Her struggling became less, her pain died down, the darkness around her began to fade. She could almost see him. She could almost make out his silhouette fighting Ganon.

"Link! I'm here!" she called. Zelda prayed to the goddess, begging for one last moment of help. Suddenly, she was no longer surrounded by the blackness that had engulfed her so long ago. She was surrounded by light.

A beautiful woman stood in front of Zelda. The woman—no, goddess, in front of her emitted her own light. Zelda was frightened by the sight of her, completely in awe of her beauty and power.

The goddess opened her eyes and smiled. She held her hand out as a golden bow appeared. Zelda heard a voice, but never saw the woman's lips move.

"Give this to the boy chosen by the sword. This is the Bow of Light. It will not fail him in his time of need."

Zelda reached out and took the bow.

 _My body_ , she thought. _It's back. I am back._

Zelda blinked and was back inside the Calamity, but she could still see her hero fighting. She used the remnants of her power to transport the bow from her realm to his.

"Link. Hear me, my Chosen One. You may not yet be at a point where you have recovered your power or all of your memories. But courage need not be remembered. For it is never forgotten," she called out, feeling his power intertwine with hers.

Zelda held back the malice of Ganon while Link attacked him with the Bow of Light. With each arrow that struck the beast, she felt its power diminish."

"That's it," she cheered. "This is it, Link!"

Finally, all in one second, Zelda was freed from the beast and sprang into the air in all her glory. She continued praying, knowing what her job was to do now. She was not afraid. She knew the goddess had heard her.

Zelda's feet lightly tapped the ground. She took in a deep breath. How long had it been since she had seen life? How long since she had breathed air?

Ganon roared and attempted to fly into the air in a last minute escape.

In a burst of energy from the goddess, Zelda raised her hand, staring the beast straight in the eyes as she had done ages before. She held out her hand in defiance to him, ready to finally end the war she had fought alone for so long. The light engulfed the monster, swallowing it up and sealing it from the earth she loved so dearly until there was not one trace of him left.

The princess exhaled.

"Finally," she breathed. "It's finally over."

"P-Princess?"

How long had it been since she'd heard those words? How long had it been since she heard his voice?

Zelda turned around and was met with the brilliant blue eyes of her hero. The eyes she had seen so many times looking at her. The eyes she had so longed to see again. The eyes that held so much in them, that saw through her, that cried with her, calmed her, enthralled her, captivated her.

"Link," she said, just above a whisper. Did he remember her? Did he remember who she was to him? Did he remember the last thing he told her?

He took a small step toward her. Then another. Then, all at once, he ran to her, and she to him, arms open. The collapsed into each others arms with a thud, tightly embracing one another with all the emotion they had built up over the last one hundred years.

"Link," Zelda cried, the tears she had kept in for so long finally spilling over her cheeks. "You did it, you came for me. You defeated him." She leaned back, putting her hands on his shoulders. "I always knew you would. I knew you'd wake up. I knew you would find a way to destroy him."

"My dear," he said, holding her face in his hands, "You found a way. All this time. You fought all this time." He wiped away a tear that inevitably fell down her face. "You fought so hard."

"Please know, you must know, I did it all for you."

"Princess," Link breathed, pulling her close to him and wrapping his arms around her once more.

"Tell me you remember me, Link. Tell me you remember who I was to you."

"I remember. I remember everything now, Princess. And I will never, ever forget. Even when I didn't know everything, even when my memories were not fully returned to me, I knew I was missing something. I knew there was a void in my heart. But once I saw your pictures and returned to the places you and I traversed, I knew it was you. I missed you so much. So much," he said as he brushed his fingers through her hair.

Her wounds were gone, and her skin was clear again. Her hair was no longer singed from the malice she had been burned by so many times. Only scars represented the places the burns and gashes once tarnished her glowing skin. Link ran his fingers over the outline of wounds on her face and neck, looking her over for more signs of damage.

"I'm so sorry," he breathed.

"You?" she smiled. "Oh Link, look at you," she said, wiping some of the blood off of his forehead. "We need to tend to your wounds."

"I see one hundred years has not changed you in the least. You are still here to patch me up after a fight."

"You're still not immortal, O brave one," Zelda smiled, recalling all the times she reminded him of that.

"I survived one hundred years and you still say that," he said, leaning his head against hers.

"One hundred years," Zelda whispered. "Has it really been that long, Link?"

"I'm afraid it has, Princess."

"How this world must have changed."

"You will soon learn, Your Majesty. It is not what it used to be."

"My dear, Link. My kingdom has been destroyed. There is no reason to refer to me as "Princess" anymore. I am not the princess of a kingdom, now," she said reluctantly, as she treasured the name he had always called her.

"You are to me," Link said, his voice lower, sending chills up Zelda's spine.

"All I care about is what I am to you," she said in a whisper, despite the fact that no one was around.

"What you are to me," he replied.

"Yes."

"Princess. You are so much to me. You are the hope that lived within me. You are the light that guided me through so many dark trials. You are the strength I had to push on. You are the last thing I see when I close my eyes and the first thing I wish to see when I wake up. You are the example I had laid out before me, you are the embodiment of everything I admire and strive to be. You have captured me, body and soul. You have redeemed me, and I am your humble servant once again."

"In that case, I have one request I wish for you to fulfill, one I have waited on since before the Calamity struck, and one that I find more important than anything the last one hundred years could have brought," the princess replied.

"What is that? Tell me," Link asked, eagerly.

"Kiss me, Hero."

Link smiled widely at her before wrapping one arm around her waist and holding her cheek in his hand, angling her face toward him. His lips finally landed on hers, as he had so wished for them to for years. Long before Ganon awakened, on nights in his room alone with his thoughts, after hours upon hours of following the stubborn princess around, he had wondered what it would be like to feel her lips against his. He wondered what her hair felt like, how easily she would fit in his embrace, how soft her skin would feel against his hand, how lovely her scent was, how beautiful and perfectly shaped her features were, from her round, sapphire eyes to her tiny little nose to her perfectly shaped lips. Her perfectly shaped lips that now locked with his.

Zelda had never been kissed by another in her entire life, but she imagined a thousand kisses from a thousand different men would never compare to the one she shared with Link. The princess took out all of her emotion—her pain, her fear of losing him, her desire to see him again, her sorrow of missing him, and her determination to never let him go again—through her kiss to him. She conveyed everything she felt about him, her love for him, through one kiss. And the hero knew it, for he had done the same.

The pair reluctantly separated, stealing short kisses as they did.

"I think it's time you start referring to me as Zelda," the blond haired beauty grinned up at her companion.

"For some reason I am still afraid someone will see me and want to hang me from the highest tree in Hyrule," Link said, causing he and the princess to laugh.

"Oh my, that is the first time I have laughed in over one hundred years," she said, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Well get used to it, Zelda. Because I intend to see you smile far more often now," Link replied, holding her hands in his as they had done the last night they saw each other.

Zelda grinned at his use of her name. "Come, Link. Let's make our way to Kakariko and have Impa help patch you up and rest. Then we will start preparations for rebuilding."

"As you command, Princess," Link replied. Zelda shot him a glance. "Your name will take some getting used to. I apologize. Old habits die hard after one hundred years," he winked. Zelda still blushed at the gesture.

 _I suppose he's right_ , she thought.

As the walked through the rolling hills of Hyrule, Zelda stopped, looking out over her land.

"We have a long way to go," she stated. "There will be many painful memories we will have to bear through the process of rebuilding our kingdom to its former glory." She referred to everyone in Hyrule who had suffered, but she mainly referred to herself. Already, she felt the horrid memories of torture slip in and out of her mind.

"Yes, we will," Link replied.

 _That's right. You have torture to live through as well._

"That is why we have each other, Link. We can help each other," she smiled.

"Yes. We can," he said, taking her hand in his.

"It will be hard," she said as she continued walking hand in hand with him. "And the pain will not be easy to bear."

"Perhaps not. But I believe we will rebuild ourselves and the kingdom just fine. I have faith in us," Link smiled. "After all, we have fought harder battles before."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 _Epilogue_

Zelda and Link found a nearby stable where they were able to acquire a pair of horses. Link realized what an interesting time it would be escorting the princess around since no one knew her as the princess in this age, just a beautiful girl in a tattered dress. All the men in the stable stared at her and every move she made, eyeing Link in either envy or admiration. He felt uncomfortable with such for many reasons. She was still the princess in his mind's eye, and she required a certain decorum to be shown for one thing. For another, he did not like the idea of so many men looking at her. She demanded more respect than that. Alas, he could not control everything to such a degree so he merely did what he could and shot daggers at anyone who even looked at the princess with so much as a sideways glance until they were finally able to ride off to Kakariko.

They received a heartwarming welcome from Impa and even Paya, the sheepish girl Link felt uncomfortable around for knowing just a little too much about. Impa outfitted Zelda in traditional Kakariko garb, making her look more like a Sheikah than a princess.

Link felt his face color when she emerged from Paya's room.

"What is the matter, Hero? Do I remind you of the princess of old who disguised herself as a Sheikah boy for seven years until her chosen boy woke up again?"

"In a way, Princess. Excluding the fact that you could look remotely similar to a boy," he tossed her a wink.

The entire village celebrated the news that their princess had been returned to them. Link was eager to get to his house in Hateno where he and Zelda could have a moment of peace before the inevitable activity that would pick up within the next few days. But first they must rest.

After being sent off by the people of Kakariko, Link and Zelda rode side by side to Hateno, just like they had so many years before.

"This is so familiar," Link said as they rode in silence.

"This is the most peace I have felt since the last time we did this," Zelda replied.

They reached Hateno late in the night. The usual, peculiar fellow who ran the stables, Manny, was still standing guard when Link and Zelda arrived. After some bartering, Link managed to convince Manny to keep their horses for the night. Manny had refused at first, until that is, he saw the princess. Link tried not to roll his eyes or shove Manny to the ground after the way he salivated over his beloved princess. He kept his temper in check however, leading Zelda to his house around the corner.

Zelda was impressed by Link's ability to purchase a house in the middle of his expeditions, although the hero assured her it was really just being in the right place at the right time.

When they entered the house, the both nearly collapsed from exhaustion. Zelda sat on the small cot that was in the living room of the lovely house. Had he been completely alert and awake, he would have been embarrassed of the conditions he brought his princess to. But she did not mind. She loved his house. It was the most inviting thing she had ever seen.

Link sat next to where she sat with her head in her hands, saying nothing. Neither spoke for what felt like a long time. Zelda's thoughts ran rampant as she remembered her friends and her father that she lost. So much had happened. So much had been fought for since then.

A small cry escaped her throat. She tried to hold it in, but she soon saw no point. She leaned her head over in her hands and finally, finally grieved over her loss.

Link placed a hand on her back as she let out years of grief.

"Just cry," he whispered. "Just let yourself cry."

Zelda cried herself dry. She cried and cried until she certain she had no water left in her body. She cried herself to sleep, content with Link's loving hand on her back.

Her hero carried her up the stairs to the small bed that sat in his loft. He gently placed her down, pulling the covers up over her before bending down and kissing her forehead.

Link quietly retreated to his cot down below, being lulled to sleep by the sound of her breathing.

Days passed and the two of them healed together. At first it was hard. Either Zelda or Link woke up to nightmares, or woke up to the other one comforting them from a nightmare. But the fear would pass. They would fetch cups of water for each other, wipe the sweat off of one another's foreheads and then eventually return to their own bed and wake up to the sun the next morning.

Link supplied Zelda with new clothes from the garment store, although he did not have to pay for them once it was clear they were for the princess. Zelda thought about staying in the inn to give Link his bed back, but with her nightmares and the bit of anxiety she felt when apart from Link, the pair thought it best for her to continue sleeping in his loft.

Nights became easier, however. Days became more normal. Mornings became sweeter.

One morning, Zelda sat with her feet dangling off the edge of a small cliff that was decorated with waterfall. The cool breeze that blew down from the mountains blew her blond, free hair back from her face. Link found her sitting outside and joined her, sitting in the soft grass next to her.

"You aren't braiding your hair back anymore," he said as he handed her a jar of milk.

"No. I decided I felt more…liberated with it loose," she replied, opening the bottle and taking a drink of the ice cold milk.

"I like it," he said, opening his own bottle and indulging in the beverage next to her.

"Link," Zelda said quietly, swinging her legs. She looked around the beautiful area, admiring the grass the blew in the wind, the sound of the water falling over the rocks and into the pond beneath her and the distant laughter of children in the village. She inhaled deeply and took in the scent of the outdoors and watched an eagle fly high overhead.

"Yes, my love," he asked.

"I like our ordinary life," she grinned, feeling the warm sun kiss her face.

"I like it too," he said, kissing her cheek and following her gaze to the eagle above them.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, that was really fun. Thanks for sticking around with me during this fun summer mini-series of a Zelda fic I had a hankering to write. I hope you all enjoyed it. I just love writing these characters so much. I might just have to replay BotW. Alas, classes start tomorrow so my summer is officially over. But this was a great way to end it x) 夏の幸せな終わり !**


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